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WHAT IS THE ERRAND ? 



A Little Maid 
of 

Old Connecticut 

BY 

Alice Turner Curtis 


AUTHOR OF 


A Little Maid of Providence Town 
A Little Maid of Massachusetts Colony 
A Little Maid of Bunker Hill 
A Little Maid of Ticonderoga 


Illustrated by Wuanita Smith 



THE PENN PUBLISHING 
COMPANY PHILADELPHIA 

1918 




t 



COPYRIGHT 
1918 BY 
THE PENN 
PUBLISHING 
COMPANY 



A Little Maid of Old Connecticut 


OCT -9 1918 

© Cl. A 5 0 3 7 9 3 


Introduction 


Little Ellen Elizabeth Barlow lived in Con- 
necticut in the troublous days of 1777, when 
enemy war vessels and Tory bands were ravag- 
ing the coast settlements of the Colony. The 
first time she ever left her home was when she 
took a stage-coach at her father’s door and 
traveled down to Hartford to visit her grand- 
mother, carrying her new silk bonnet in a band- 
box. Something else was slipped into the box, 
also — a mysterious package from a Tory pris- 
oner, which caused the little girl some anxious 
hours before Governor Jonathan Trumbull set 
her mind at rest. 

Each of the other books of this series, “ A 
Little Maid of Province Town,” “ A Little Maid 
of Massachusetts Colony,” “ A Little Maid of 
Narragansett Bay,” “ A Little Maid of Ticon- 
deroga,” also tells the story of a girl in the days 
of the American Revolution that cannot fail to 
interest young patriots of to-day. 


3 










Contents 


I. 

Miss Ellen Elizabeth Barlow 

• 


9 

II. 

Stephen’s Prisoner 


• 


21 

III. 

“ Barlay ” . 


• 


31 

IV. 

Off to Hartford 


• 


40 

V. 

Ellie Hears of a Spy . 


• 


52 

VI. 

The Scotch Rose . 


• 


63 

VII. 

Fort Danger 


• 


74 

VIII. 

The Package Vanishes 


• 


83 

IX. 

A Day of Trouble 


• 


92 

X. 

Brave Deeds 


• 


IOI 

'XI. 

The Mysterious Package 


• 


Ir 3 

XII. 

Ellie and Governor Trumbull 

• 


124 

XIII. 

The Spare Room . 


• 


i 34 

XIV. 

A Visitor 


• 


144 

XV. 

Just a Friend 


• 


155 

XVI. 

A Tea Party 


# 


165 

XVII. 

Mildred and Nancy 


• 


176 

XVIII. 

Hannah Jane and Ellie 


• 


186 

XIX. 

The End of the Visit . 


• 


197 

XX. 

Home Again . 


• 


206 


5 



Illustrations 



PAGE 

w What Is the Errand? ” . 

. Frontispiece 

“ A Bit of Rock-Candy ? ” . 

. • 46 ^ 

She Tiptoed Down the Stairs . 

• 93 ^ 

a This Is a Message for You ” . 

. 125 


u Aren’t You Going to Stay All Summer ? ” • 192 


A Little Maid of Old Connecticut 








» 


A Little Maid of Old 
Connecticut 


CHAPTER I 

MISS ELLEN ELIZABETH BARLOW 

Ellie Barlow stood just inside the gate 
watching for the big coach, on its way to Hart- 
ford, which passed her father's house every 
Thursday morning. She could see the horses 
when they came over the top of the hill, and 
then the big yellow coach, with its load of pas- 
sengers, and with boxes and bundles securely 
strapped on behind. 

The driver of the coach seemed a very fine 
person to the little girl. He wore a round hat 
turned up in front. His coat was green, with 
big shining brass buttons, and he flourished a 
long whip, the lash of which could reach the 
leaders of the four horses that brought the coach 
over the road at such a good pace. 

It was usually about eleven o'clock in the 
9 


IO A LITTLE MAID 

morning when the coach passed ; and by half- 
past ten Ellie was at the gate. Mr. Samuel Pet- 
tigrew, the driver, always waved his gloved 
hand to the little girl, and Ellie waved back, 
and then watched the coach until a distant hill 
hid it from view. Then she would go slowly 
back to the house, wishing that she might some 
day go driving grandly off to Hartford, a pas- 
senger in the coach. 

But this morning in early June of 1776 Ellie 
watched the coach with a new delight. “ Just 
think,” she whispered to herself, “ when next 
Thursday comes the coach will stop at this very 
gate, and the steps will be let down, and I shall 
get in the coach and be riding off to Hartford.” 
And at the thought of this wonderful adventure 
so near at hand, Ellie gave a little jump of de- 
light, and ran back to the house, her black curls 
dancing in the air and her dark eyes eager with 
anticipation. 

The Barlow farm was a half day’s ride from 
Hartford, on the main road which led to Salis- 
bury. It was a brown, weather-beaten house, 
and stood well back from the road. There was 
a big oak tree nearly in front of the house, and 
on the slope behind grew many apple trees. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 


ii 


Ellie was sure that the Barlow farm was the 
finest farm in all Connecticut. 

She had heard older people say that it raised 
the be3t flax in the county ; and that no one 
had such prosperous flocks of sheep as Mr. 
David Barlow ; and Ellie knew that she should 
always want to live there ; but, nevertheless, it 
was a delightful thing to have a grandmother 
in the fine town of Hartford who had invited 
you to come for a visit. Ellie’s mother had 
been born in Hartford, and had told her little 
daughter many stories about its brick man- 
sion-houses, its shops and churches. The little 
girl knew that ships were built in Hartford. 
Her own mother had been on one when it was 
launched, years ago. And Grandmother Hin- 
man lived near the market-place, where coaches 
could be seen every day in the week, and where 
you could hear the bells of three churches on 
every Sunday morning. No wonder the little 
girl could hardly wait for the day set for her 
journey. 

Ellie ran straight to the kitchen, where her 
mother w r as preparing the midday meal. 

“ I was just going to call you, Ellie. The 
table is not set ; and there is your father coming 


12 


A LITTLE MAID 

up from the meadow, and the boys will be here 
before we are ready.” 

As Mrs. Barlow spoke she drew the table to- 
ward the center of the big, pleasant kitchen, and 
Ellie helped spread the white home-made table- 
cloth, and put on the heavy earthenware plates, 
and the pewter mugs, and ran to the cellar for 
the golden butter and a pitcher of cool milk. 

“Just think, mother, in another week I shall 
be on my way to Hartford in the coach 1 ” said 
Ellie as she set down the pitcher. 

“ Yes, dear ; and this very afternoon I must 
take the linen from the loom and cut you out a 
dress. You will have to make it yourself, for I 
want to make you a frock of the flecked silk 
that your father brought home from his last 
trip to Hartford.” 

Truly I Oh, mother I I am sure grand- 
mother will think I have too many fine 
things ! declared Ellie, remembering her hat 
of braided straw, which she had helped to make 
and which her mother had trimmed with a 
wide blue ribbon, and of another even more 
beautiful hat of pale blue shirred silk which 
was carefully put away in the big bandbox in 
an upper room. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 13 

“ Here's father now I " and Ellie ran toward 
the open door, and a second later her father had 
lifted her in his arms and swung her up so high 
that her head touched the low ceiling. 

“ Oh, father ! I'm too big now to be swung 
about," she said, as he lowered her to the floor. 

“ So you are. Big enough to go off on a 
journey all by yourself," her father responded 
laughingly. Then his face grew more serious. 
“ I have half a mind to go with the child," he 
said, turning toward his wife. “ But I may be 
called to my regiment any day now." 

Before Mrs. Barlow could reply two boys came 
running into the kitchen. 

“ Dinner ready ? " they exclaimed together. 

“ Yes, indeed, and waiting," responded Mrs. 
Barlow, smiling at her tall sons. Stephen, the 
eldest, was nearly sixteen years old, and Will 
was two years younger. They were both tall 
for their age, with dark eyes and hair like their 
sister's. They were already a great help to 
their father, and always ready and watchful to 
assist their mother in the work of the house. 
Stephen was quite sure that he was old enough 
to enlist. 

It was nearly a year after the Battle of Bunker 


14 A LITTLE MAID 

Hill, and no colony was more interested in the 
success of the American cause than Connecticut. 
She had sent help to beleaguered Boston, and 
many boys but little older than Stephen were 
bearing arms. And it was a gloomy outlook 
for Connecticut just then. The British were 
near, and every citizen realized that he must be 
ready to defend his home. 

As the little family gathered about the table 
they all bowed their heads for the brief grace 
which Mr. Barlow never omitted. 

Will was greatly interested in the growth of 
some mulberry trees which he had planted two 
years before, for the purpose of raising silk- 
worms. 

It won t be long before we’ll be making silk 
enough for you and Ellen to have all the dresses 
you want, that is, if I can only get silkworms,” 
he announced, as he told his mother of the 
rapid growth of the mulberry trees. 

Something else to think about besides silk 
dresses and mulberry trees,” grumbled Stephen, 
passing his plate for a second helping of the 
roast lamb. “ Mayn’t I go to Hartford with 
Ellie ? ” he continued, looking from his mother 
to his father with hopeful eyes ; for in Hartford, 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 


15 

as Stephen well knew, there were always soldiers 
arriving home or starting forth ; captured Tories 
were being brought in under guard, and it 
seemed to Stephen that nothing but the Ameri- 
can cause for Liberty was worth thinking about. 

“ Don't ask that question again, Stephen/' 
his father answered. “ You know I may have 
to leave any day. You are needed here, to help 
your mother and protect the farm." 

“ No fear of the British coming this way," 
declared Stephen, not ill-pleased that his father 
should think of him as able to defend his home. 

“ I can go alone. The stage-driver will look 
out for me," said Ellie, half fearing that after 
all her father might decide to keep her at home. 

“Yes, you will be quite safe," agreed Mrs. 
Barlow. “ You will be in Hartford before sup- 
per time, and your grandma will be looking for 
you." 

“I expect Mr. Pettigrew will be surprised 
when he sees me all ready to get into the 
coach," said Ellie, smiling happily as she looked 
across the table toward her father. 

“ Did you wish to surprise him, Ellie ? If 
you did I have spoiled your plan ; for I told 
him that my daughter, Miss Ellen Elizabeth 


A LITTLE MAID 


16 

Barlow, would be a passenger on Thursday ; 
and for him to be sure to stop at our gate,” re- 
sponded her father. 

Ellie was evidently delighted. 

“ Oh, father ! Then he will be surprised. 
Of course he will think that ‘ Miss Ellen Eliza- 
beth Barlow ’ must be a grown-up young lady, 

and when he sees me ” and Ellie laughed 

aloud at the thought of the surprise in store for 
the stage-driver. 

“ I mean to tell him to take great care of you. 
It is quite a journey for a little girl only ten 
years old,” said Mr. Barlow. 

“ Nothing could befall the child, unless she 
can manage to fall out of the window,” declared 
Ellen’s mother. “We shall see her safely 
started, and her grandmother will be watching 
for the arrival of the coach. You must not 
make her fearful, David.” 

“Sometimes I think all my children have 
too much courage,” responded Mr. Barlow, nod- 
ding toward Stephen. “ The boys are sure they 
could defeat a regiment of trained soldiers ; and 
I don t think Ellie knows what fear is.” 

“Oh, yes, I do, father! Wasn’t I afraid 
every time the teacher spoke to me all last 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 17 

term,” replied the little girl, who had not been 
very happy at school, and was now delighted 
to hear that the school was to have a new 
teacher when it opened for the autumn term. 

After dinner Ellie helped her mother wash 
the dishes. 

“ Shall I help Grandmother Hinman when I 
am at her house ? ” Ellie asked, as she gave the 
shining pewter mugs a careful rub. 

“ Perhaps grandma may find something for 
you to do ; but I suppose Hannah Jane will 
hardly let you step foot in her kitchen,” Mrs. 
Barlow answered, smiling at the remembrance 
of the sturdy old Scotchwoman who had been a 
helper in the Hinman family when Mrs. Barlow 
herself was no older than Ellie. 

There was another question which Ellie 
wanted very much to ask, but she had resolved 
not to. She wanted, more than anything, to 
know if there would be any little girls who lived 
near her grandmother’s house, and who would 
come and see her. For the Barlows had no 
near neighbors, and Ellie had no girl friends of 
her own age. The schoolhouse was two miles 
distant, and the girls with whom Ellie became 
acquainted at school all lived beyond the school- 


1 8 A LITTLE MAID 

house ; so when school closed for the long va- 
cation she often did not see them for months. 

“ You will have four little girls for neighbors 
at grandmother's,” said Mrs. Barlow, as Ellie 
followed her mother into the big front living- 
room, where stood the small hand-loom on 
which was the checked gingham for Ellie’s 
new dress. 

Ellie stood in the doorway. “ Oh, mother ! ” 
she exclaimed. “ Four little girls ! ” 

“ Wh y, yes ; have I not told you about the 
Chaplin children? Bertha and Mildred are 
the two oldest. Bertha is twelve, and Mildred 
is just your age. And Nancy is eight, while 
little Lucy is only six.” 

Four little girls ! ” repeated Ellie with such 
delight in her voice that her mother looked at 
her in surprise. 

I was wishing and wishing that there would 
be little girls at grandmother's ! ” declared Ellie. 

It seems just as if I was going to have every- 
thing. Why! Just going in the coach was 
enough ! and she stopped as if so many de- 
lights were more than she could realize. 

# Yes, dear ; you are sure to have a happy 
visit. And now I will take the gingham from 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 


19 

the loom and cut out your dress. Bring your 
work-bag, for you must stitch up the seams this 
afternoon/’ responded her mother ; and Ellie 
ran into the hall and up the narrow twisting 
stairs to her room after the pretty little work- 
bag which held her thimble, scissors and nee- 
dles. She was eager to ask her mother about 
the little Chaplin girls, and as she drew the 
rocking-chair, which her brothers had made for 
her on her last birthday, near one of the sitting- 
room windows and sat down to wait for the 
work which her mother was basting, she said : 

“ Now tell me about the little Chaplin girls, 
mother. And do you think they will come and 
see me every day ? ” 

Mrs. Barlow laughed as she looked toward 
Ellie. 

“ Why, my dear, I have told you all I know 
about them. It is what your grandmother 
wrote in her letter. Very likely you will see 
them every day ; but you must remember not 
to go to their house except when they invite 
you.” 

“ Oh, mother ! They might want me to come 
and forget to ask me,” said Ellie. 

“ Yes, so they might. But that would be 


20 


A LITTLE MAID 

their affair. And in big towns like Hartford 
little visitors must always wait to be invited,” 
responded Mrs. Barlow. 

1 11 lemember, Ellie promised smilingly. 
She was quite sure that the four little Chaplin 
girls would ask her to come every day. 


CHAPTER II 


Stephen's prisoner 

There was a tall rose-bush near the window 
where Ellie sat sewing up the seams in the 
pretty brown-checked gingham, which her 
mother had woven on the hand-loom. The 
rose-bush had been brought, as a tiny slip, from 
Grandmother Hinman's garden when Ellie's 
mother married and came to live on the Barlow 
farm. When Ellie was a very small girl, not 
more than five or six years old, she had an- 
nounced one day that the “ yellow rose-bush ” 
was hers, and that no one was to pick a rose 
from it without her permission, and the other 
members of the family had good-naturedly 
agreed. 

“ If it is your property then you must take 
care of it,” her mother had said ; and Ellie was 
shown how to trim off the dead wood, and had 
learned that soap-suds thrown over the leaves 
and branches kept them clear from bugs. 

21 


22 


A LITTLE MAID 


Every autumn she brought leaves from under 
the big oak tree, and branches of spruce from 
the pasture and “ banked up ” her rose-bush to 
protect it from the icy cold and frost of winter. 
Each year the tree had grown and flourished, 
and it was now full of yellow blossoms which 
sent a pleasant fragrance through the open 
windows. 

“ I can take some of my roses to grand- 
mother,” said Ellie, “ and then I can see if they 
are really so fine and large as Hartford roses.” 

“ You must ask your grandmother to tell you 
the story of her rose-tree,” said Mrs. Barlow. 

“ You tell me, mother,” Ellie responded. But 
Mrs. Barlow shook her head. 

“No, my dear; grandma can tell it much 
better than I can, and it is a story well worth 
listening to. But I will tell you this much : 
Grandma’s rose tree, of which yours is a slip, 
came from Holyrood Castle in Edinburgh, Scot- 
land.” 

“And is that why it is a Scotch rose? ” Ellie 
asked. 

“ Grandmother will tell you all about it,” re- 
plied her mother; and Ellie instantly resolved to 
find out the history of her rose-tree the very 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 


2 3 

night of her arrival in Hartford. It seemed to 
the little girl that every day and hour was 
bringing some new delight and interest in the 
visit to Grandmother Hinman. 

“Oh, mother! What is that?” Ellie ex- 
claimed suddenly, jumping up from her chair, 
and dropping her work on the floor. 

Mrs. Barlow did not answer, for she also had 
sprung to her feet and was now moving toward 
the window. 

“ It was a shot, wasn’t it, mother ? ” Ellie 
half whispered ; for it was a time when every 
household along the Connecticut River feared a 
possible attack from the invader’s troops ; and 
the sound of a musket-shot might mean serious 
trouble. Farmers often took their guns with 
them in the fields, and it was no wonder that 
Mrs. Barlow and Ellie were frightened and 
alarmed. 

“ Mother, mayn’t I run to the meadow and 
call father?” Ellie asked. 

But her mother shook her head, and an in- 
stant later Will came running across the field. 
He was waving his straw hat as if in triumph, 
and before he reached the house he called out : 
“ Steve has captured a Tory.” 


24 A LITTLE MAID 

“ For pity’s sake ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Barlow, 
hastening to meet him, closely followed by Ellie. 

“ Here they come. Look ! ” and Will pointed 
toward the lower field. 

“ Where’s your father ? Who fired the gun ? ” 
questioned Mrs. Barlow. 

Hie Tory fired the gun. Father’s coming,” 
said Will, fairly dancing up and down in his 
excitement. 

As Stephen and his prisoner came nearer Mrs. 
Barlow exclaimed again : “ Why, he isn’t much 
older than Stevie ! ” for the red-coated prisoner 
who limped along, his hands fastened together, 
and his own gun held by Stephen, was evidently 
a boy not over eighteen or twenty. Mr. Bar- 
low was close behind the captive, and ‘appar- 
ently more amused than alarmed by the affair. 

Stephen’s face was flushed with pride. He 
felt that he was at last really helping the Amer- 
ican cause. 

“ Did he shoot at you, Stevie ? ” Ellie whis- 
pered fearfully, running along by her brother’s 
side. 

I don t know what he thought he was shoot- 
ing at. The bullet struck the top of the fence,” 
Stephen answered scornfully. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 25 

Ellie looked at her brother’s prisoner with 
wondering eyes. She had never seen a Tory 
soldier before, and it seemed to her very queer 
that any one could be afraid of a boy who 
looked so much like the boys of Connecticut. 
The prisoner had brown hair, which had evi- 
dently not been combed or cut for a long time ; 
his fair skin was burned and freckled, and his 
uniform worn and soiled. A bare toe stuck 
through the old shoe, and he limped as if utterly 
worn out. 

“ Give me the gun, Stephen,” said Mr. Bar- 
low, coming forward, “ and take the boy up to 
your room and let him lie down. He’s very 
nearly exhausted. You and Will can stand 
guard over him,” he concluded, seeing the look 
of disappointment on Stephen’s face. 

“ All right, sir,” responded Steve, in what he 
believed to be a very gruff and soldier-like tone. 

“ I believe the chap’s about starved,” Will 
found a chance to whisper to his mother as they 
entered the kitchen. 

For a moment Mrs. Barlow hesitated. To 
give food to a man who was fighting against 
America’s rights, who had, as she believed, fired 
his musket at her son, seemed for a moment 


26 


A LITTLE MAID 

more than she could do ; but at that moment 
Stephen quickly reached out his arm. His pris- 
oner had lurched forward, and but for Steve's 
help would have fallen. 

“ He hasn't spoken since we found him," said 
Will. “ I believe he's ill,” and as he spoke Will 
began to untie the stout cord with which Steve 
had fastened the stranger’s hands, and Ellie ran 
to the well to bring in a pitcher of cool water. 

It proved that the prisoner was really ill. 
His hands and head were burning with fever 
and Mr. Barlow and Stephen had to carry him 
up-stairs and put him to bed. Mrs. Barlow 
started the kitchen fire and prepared a delicate 
broth, and all the family were now busy and 
interested in trying to help and aid one whom 
they knew to be their enemy. Stephen insisted 
on staying in the same room with his prisoner, 
and a cot was put up for him, although he de- 
clared that he should not close his eyes for the 
night. 

What really happened, David ? " questioned 
Mrs. Barlow when she returned to the kitchen 
after having fed the young Tory, and left Ste- 
phen in charge of his prisoner. 

Why, I don’t think anything really hap- 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 2 7 

pened,” Mr. Barlow replied. “ This young red- 
coat was evidently hiding in the woods near the 
river, and when Stephen caught a glimpse of him 
and rushed toward him calling out, ‘ Surrender/ 
the fellow fired off his musket and fell over, 
just as he did here. I believe he is a deserter 
from the British Army who has been hiding 
until he is so worn out and nearly starved that 
he don't care what happens to him/’ concluded 
Mr. Barlow. 

“ Did he fire at Stevie ? ” asked Ellie. 

“ I don’t believe he knew what he fired at. 
But it was his last charge of powder,” said 
Mr. Barlow, who was examining the stranger’s 
musket and powder-horn. “ By Jove ! ” he ex- 
claimed suddenly. “ This is queer. Here is 
my name on this powder-horn, ‘ David Bar- 
low/ ” and he held it toward his wife, point- 
ing to a small silver plate on which the name 
was engraved. 

“ But your powder-horn hasn’t any name on 
it,” said Will. 

“ This belongs to the young Tory. His name 
must be the same as mine,” explained his 
father. 

“ Then he can’t really be a Tory if his name 


28 


A LITTLE MAID 


is Barlow. But what made Stevie run at him 
before he knew whether he had a gun or not? ” 
said Ellie. 

“ Stephen doesn't stop for a second thought 
when he sees a redcoat/' responded her father ; 
“a little military training would teach him 
more sense." 

They were all now greatly interested to know 
more about the boy, who was in Stephen's room 
sound asleep. For a time Ellie entirely forgot 
about her visit. She had no cousins named 
Barlow, and she wondered if the boy up-stairs 
might not prove to be a cousin. She knew that 
her Grandfather Barlow had been born in Eng- 
land. 

“ Now, Ellie, you must return to your sew- 
ing," her mother reminded her when Mr. Bar- 
low and Will had gone back to their work in 
the field, “ and your father thinks it best for us 
not to speak of this boy up-stairs, in case any 
neighbor or stranger comes this way." 

“ But Tories do not come this way, and Amer- 
icans would be glad that he was here," replied 
Ellie. 

11 Yes > dear, that may be true ; but until the 
boy is stronger and we know more about him 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 29 

we will not speak of Stevie’s prisoner,” replied 
her mother ; and Ellie went slowly back to her 
little chair by the window, picked up the ging- 
ham, put on her little steel thimble and began 
to sew. But her thoughts were no longer on 
the story of the yellow rose-tree in Grandmother 
Hinman’s garden, nor did she think of the 
little Chaplin girls who were to be her play- 
mates ; she was wondering about the sick boy 
up-stairs whose name was the same as that of 
her father. 

“ I don’t believe he will ever be a Tory soldier 
again,” she thought ; “ perhaps he didn’t want 
to be. I hope he will tell us all about himself 
to-morrow.” 

But the young Tory was too ill to be ques- 
tioned the next morning, and it was Mrs. Bar- 
low who now took charge of Steve’s prisoner, 
and not until the third day after his capture 
did he apparently realize that he was not hid- 
ing away from every human being. 

“ Did you call me * David ’ ? ” he asked, look- 
ing up at Mrs. Barlow as she fed him with 
Steve’s own silver spoon. 

“ Why, yes, I suppose I did. It is your name, 
isn’t it?” she responded. 


A LITTLE MAID 


3 ° 

The boy smiled and nodded, and finished the 
broth with evident appetite. That afternoon he 
was bolstered up in bed, and was evidently 
much better. 

When Mrs. Barlow told him that his name 
was the same as their own, he seemed greatly 
surprised and interested, and said that his home 
was near Exeter in England. But he said noth- 
ing more about himself, and Mrs. Barlow did 
not question him. She was very sure that when 
he was stronger, and realized that they were 
ready to be his friends, that this English boy 
would tell them his story. 

“ 1*11 take him to Hartford as soon as he is 
well,” Stephen declared, when his mother told 
him of his captive’s improvement. 

“But he was running away from the Tory 
Army, Stevie,” said Ellie. 

“ Perhaps he’s a spy,” whispered Will, and he 
and Stephen looked at each other hopefully. 
Both the boys thought it would be a fine thing 
if the sick lad up-stairs proved to be a British 

spy. 


CHAPTER III 


“ BARLAY ” 

“ Mother I Will likes Stevie's prisoner. He 
says he does I " declared Ellie a few days after 
the capture of the young Englishman, who was 
now able to sit up, and who seemed very grate- 
ful for the kindness shown him. 

Ellie had just come into the kitchen, after 
carrying a dish of freshly gathered strawberries 
to “ Barlay,” as the boys had decided to call the 
young man. 

“ Will has discovered that our visitor can tell 
him a great deal about silkworms, and you know 
your brother is very anxious to learn about silk/' 
responded Mrs. Barlow. 

“ What is a silkworm ? Will says it is a sort 
of caterpillar," said Ellie, looking questioningly 
at her mother who was busy preparing straw- 
berries to preserve. The careful housewives of 
Connecticut, in Revolutionary days gathered the 
wild berries and fruits, which were either dried 
31 


A LITTLE MAID 


3 2 

or preserved for use in the long winter months. 
Ellie had picked a big basketful of fine straw- 
berries in the lower field that morning, and her 
mother was now hulling the fragrant berries. 

“ I'll help hull the strawberries, and you tell 
me about silkworms,” continued the little girl, 
drawing a chair near to the open doorway where 
her mother was sitting. 

“ A silkworm is like a caterpillar. But first 
of all it is a ‘ spinner ’ moth. Your brother can 
tell you more than I can about it, and very 
likely this young Englishman knows more than 
both of us. But I do know that the moth lays 
the eggs from which the silkworm is hatched. 
It is a little black worm, covered with long hair, 
with a shiny nose and sixteen small legs, and 
its only food seems to be the tender leaf of the 
mulberry,” said Mrs. Barlow. 

Ellie looked out through the doorway to 
where Will’s mulberry trees were growing on the 
sunny slope. How wonderful it would be, she 
thought, to see silkworms at work. 

“ I wish Will had some silkworms,” she said. 
“ How do the silkworms make silk, mother ? ” 

“ They spin it, my dear, in a cocoon. They 
spin out silken threads, just as a spider sends 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 33 

oat its slender lines. The silkworm attaches a 
thread to some object and spins out a network 
which is called a cocoon, and which is a firm, 
continuous thread of silk,” explained Mrs. Bar- 
low. 

Why couldn’t a little girl raise silkworms and 
make silk ? ” Ellie asked ; but before her 
mother could reply Will came into the room. 

“ You ought to see Barlay in Steve’s clothes,” 
he exclaimed laughingly. “ He looks funny 
enough. What do you suppose father means to 
do with him ? He wants to come down-stairs to 
supper, if you are willing.” 

“ Why, yes, indeed. And we must all be very 
kind to him,” replied his mother. 

The strawberries were now ready for the pre- 
serve kettle, and while her mother measured 
out the sugar Ellie went to the pantry and 
brought out a bowl of yellow corn-meal. 

“ May I make the johnny-cake for supper, 
mother ? ” she asked. 

“ Yes, my dear. Be sure the water is boiling 
before you turn it over the meal.” 

Ellie was always very proud indeed when her 
mother trusted her to cook some simple dish. 
Like all girls of that time she was taught that 


A LITTLE MAID 


34 

it was necessary to learn to do useful things, and 
that a little girl who could sew neatly, knit, spin 
and cook, was sure to grow up an accomplished 
woman. 

When Mr. Barlow and Stephen came in 
supper was ready, and the golden corn-cake was 
praised and admired when Ellie set it on the 
table. 

Will helped the young Englishman to his seat 
at the table, where every one except Stephen 
made him welcome. Stephen felt that this was 
no way to treat a prisoner. He wanted to take 
the Tory to Hartford and see what the American 
authorities would do with him. 

But Barlay seemed so embarrassed and shy 
that even Stephen was sorry for him before 
supper was over ; and it was Stephen who sug- 
gested that the stranger should step out to the 
porch after supper. 

“ I hope he means to tell us something about 
himself,” said Mr. Barlow, after the boys had 
left the room. “I must make— some decision 
about him at once.” 

After the supper dishes were washed Ellie 
went out on the porch where her brothers were 
talking with Barlay. The boys were on the 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 35 

broad lower step of the porch looking up into the 
clear June sky. 

“Yes, that’s the Pole Star,” she heard the 
young man say. “ You can see that the year 
around. All the other stars move round it. 
There’s an old rhyme which says : 

“ * He who would scan the figured skies, 

Its brightest gems to tell, 

Must first direct his mind’s eye north 
And learn the i Bear ’ stars well/ ” 

And then he pointed out the constellation of 
the Great Bear. He went on to say that after 
he ran away from his regiment he had guided 
his course as well as possible by the stars. 

After the young man had gone to bed Mr. and 
Mrs. Barlow talked with the boys about what it 
was best to do in regard with him, and it was 
Stephen who said : “ Why can’t he stay here ? 

There’s work enough for another boy. He 
knows a lot about stars, and plants and ani- 
mals.” 

“ Perhaps he won’t want to stay,” replied Mr. 
Barlow, “ and, while he seems a friendly lad, we 
must not forget that he has been an English 
soldier, and that it is not impossible that he is a 


A LITTLE MAID 


3 6 

spy. The British are in New York, and their 
ships near our coast. Our Connecticut towns 
may be attacked at any time. We must be very 
careful with all strangers, even when they are 
boys like my namesake.” 

“ Then you think I had better keep watch ? ” 
said Stephen. 

“Yes, my son. This young fellow is your 
prisoner, and you are responsible for him. 
Treat him well, but do not tell him anything of 
our affairs. When I am called to my regiment 
do not let him know what it is that takes me 
from home,” said Mr. Barlow. 

“ But if he doesn't want to stay here, father ? ” 
questioned Ellie, clasping her father's arm so 
tightly that Mr. Barlow realized that his little 
daughter was alarmed by the talk of spies. 

“ Yes, we must think of that,” he answered ; 
“ of course, if he is a spy he will try to steal 
away without our knowledge. There are Tories 
in Hartford who would help him along. And 
that is what Stephen must look out for.” 

“ I don't believe he is a spy,” declared Will, 
“ and I don't think it would be fair to hand 
him over to the American authorities. Of course 
they’d not believe what he says.” 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 37 

“But he doesn’t say anything,” Mrs. Barlow 
reminded him. 

“ Well, he told me that he thought the Ameri- 
cans were right to defend their homes,” confessed 
Will. 

Mr. and Mrs. Barlow decided that the young 
deserter should be treated in a friendly manner, 
and asked to help in the work of the farm. 
" Unless he makes some effort to leave, or de- 
ceives us in some way, we will try to make a 
good American of him,” said Mr. Barlow. 

“ But what could Stevie do if he runs away ? ” 
asked Ellie. 

“ I'll see that he doesn't run away,” declared 
Stephen, feeling that at last he was really in 
charge of a Tory prisoner. “ If I see any signs 
of it I’ll march him straight off to Hartford.” 

The next day Barlay was down-stairs in good 
season. He asked Will if there were any pieces 
of well-seasoned wood to be had, and if Will had 
a sharp knife. And Will was ready to furnish 
both, and greatly interested to see what Barlay 
wanted of them. 

“ I thought I could make some reels for your 
mother’s yarn,” Barlay explained ; so Stephen 
and Will soon followed their father to the field, 


A LITTLE MAID 


38 

leaving the young man sitting just outside the 
kitchen door, pleasantly occupied with his knife. 

In response to a sign from Stephen Ellie fol- 
lowed him from the house. 

“ Look here, Ellie ; I want you to keep watch 
over this fellow until I get back from the field. 
Mother says he is too weak now even to attempt 
to get away ; but just the same we mustn’t take 
a chance. If he even starts to go toward the 
road or the woods you blow the horn three 
times,” whispered Stephen. 

“ Yes, yes, Stevie,” Ellie promised, and ran 
back to the kitchen, resolved to watch the young 
Englishman as carefully as Stephen would him- 
self. 

“ May I bring my sewing out here, mother ? ” 
she asked, running into the kitchen, where Mrs. 
Barlow was ironing at a table drawn near the 
open door. 

“ Yes, my dear ; and you had best take your 
chair outdoors in the shade beside Barlay, for 
this room is almost too warm for comfort,” re- 
plied her mother, and in a few foments Ellie 
was sitting near the young Englishman, stitch- 
ing away on the new gingham dress which she 
was to wear to Hartford. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 39 

Barlay had looked up and smiled pleasantly 
at the little girl, and in a moment Ellie said : 

“ I am going on a journey in the big coach 
next Thursday. I am going to Hartford.” 

“ Are you going alone ? ” asked the English 
boy. 

Ellie nodded proudly. “ Yes ; but I go 
straight to my grandmother's,” she answered. 

Barlay was evidently very clever with his 
knife. He made a number of fine reels for Mrs. 
Barlow, and when Stephen came racing across 
the field in time for dinner his “ prisoner ” was 
carving out a tiny box, in the shape of an acorn, 
as a case for Ellie’s thimble. 


CHAPTER IV 


OFF TO HARTFORD 

Will and Stephen were greatly interested in 
discovering the names of the stars. And the 
next evening the family all went to the top of 
the little hill behind the house, and the young 
Englishman pointed out two shining stars to 
the left of the Great Bear. 

“ Those are Mizar and Alcor,” he said. “ In 
olden times the Arabs used these two stars as a 
test for eyesight, and any Arab who could not see 
Mizar and Alcor distinctly with his naked eye 
was not allowed to serve as a soldier.” 

Each one of the Barlows declared that they 
could see the stars clearly. Ellie began to wish 
that she was not going to Hartford quite so 
soon. 

“ Will and Stevie will know all about the 
stars before I get home,” she said as her mother 
went up-stairs with her that night. 

“ Then they can tell you, dear child,” replied 
40 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 


4i 

Mrs. Barlow, “ and I heard Barlay promise Will 
to make a little chart showing the stars which 
form the Great Bear, and you will have that to 
help you. Our visitor is as good as a teacher. 
But you must remember not to speak of him 
to any one ; not even to grandmother.” 

“ May I wear my shoes with the buckles on 
my journey ? ” asked Ellie. 

“ Why, yes. You will not need your old shoes 
in Hartford. You can wear the buckled shoes 
every day ; and I will write grandma to buy 
you some new shoes,” said Mrs. Barlow. 

The next day Ellie finished her dress, and 
Mrs. Barlow set the last stitches in the pretty 
gown of flecked silk. The little leather trunk, 
which belonged to Elbe's mother, stood in Elbe's 
room neatly packed for the journey. 

“ It will be best to put your blue silk hat in 
my bandbox,” said Mrs. Barlow, when she had 
locked the little trunk. “ You can carry the 
bandbox ; then you will be sure that your hat 
does not get crushed.” 

“ Yes, indeed,” agreed Elbe delightedly, feel- 
ing that she would really be much more like 
“ Miss Ellen Elizabeth Barlow ” if she carried a 
bandbox. 


42 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ So you are going to Hartford to-morrow ? ” 
said the young Englishman, when he gave her 
the pretty carved wooden box for her thimble. 
“ I wonder if you would do an errand there for 
me?” 

“ Oh, yes, indeed ! and thank you for this 
fine little box/' responded Ellie, looking at the 
little case with admiring eyes. 

Barlay was sitting at the kitchen table with 
some papers spread out before him. He was 
making a drawing, or chart, showing the con- 
stellation of the Great Bear and the Pole Star. 
Mrs. Barlow was up-stairs, and for the moment 
Ellie was alone with the stranger. 

“What is the errand?” asked Ellie, remem- 
bering that Steve had said that the young Eng- 
lishman wore a money belt with gold pieces in 
it, and thinking he probably wanted to send to 
Hartford for clothing. 

“ I will tell you just before you start. Please 
do not speak of it until then,” he replied. 

Ellie agreed smilingly. She was no longer 
afraid of Steve’s “ spy.” The Barlow family 
felt quite sure that there must be some bond of 
relationship between the young Englishman, 
whose name was the same as Mr. Barlow’s, since 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 43 

Mr. Barlow’s father had come to America from 
the same town where Barlay was born. And, 
although they were still watchful, they felt very 
friendly toward the youth. 

Thursday morning dawned with clear skies, 
and with all the beauty and fragrance of a June 
day. Young robins were hopping about on 
the newly-cut grass path which led down to 
the road, and a pleasant little wind from the 
west brought the fragrance of summer woods 
and fields. 

By ten o’clock Ellie was ready for her jour- 
ney. The boys had carried the little leather 
trunk down to the gate ; Mrs. Barlow had filled 
a little basket with a luncheon of cold sliced 
chicken, bread and butter and a molasses cake ; 
and Ellie had brought her bandbox out to the 
front porch. 

“ How long will you stay in Hartford, Miss 
Ellen V 9 asked Barlay, who stood just inside 
the doorway. 

“ I am to stay a month. Four whole weeks, 
unless I am homesick,” replied Ellie ; “ but Mr. 
Pettigrew, the stage-driver, will bring anything 
you want from Hartford.” 

Barlay stepped out on the porch, looked 


44 


A LITTLE MAID 


sharply about, and in an instant had untied the 
broad tape with which the bandbox was tied, 
and had slipped in a small package. 

“ Do not open your bandbox until you are in 
your own room at your grandmother's. My 
errand is written on the paper inside. Don’t 
speak of it to any one. Promise ! ” he whis- 
pered hurriedly. And Ellie, hardly realizing 
what she said, nodded and agreed. 

“ Good-bye. When you come back you'll 
find a surprise; something you will like," said 
Barlay, and swiftly returned to the kitchen 
where he was making a fine cupboard for Mrs. 
Barlow. 

For a moment Ellie stood looking at her 
bandbox, and wondering why Barlay had asked 
her to keep ‘his errand a secret. But she had 
little time to think about it, for her father and 
Steve were coming up from their work in the 
field to see her safely into the coach ; and Will 
came running from the shed saying that the 
coach was in sight. Then Mrs. Barlow, carrying 
the little lunch basket, came out, and they all 
walked down the grass path to the road. 

Ellie held tight to her father's hand. Sud- 
denly she remembered that he might be called 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 45 

to his regiment any day, and that when she 
came home he might be far away. 

“ Be a good and obedient child, Ellie,” he said 
as he gave her a good-bye kiss. And Ellie 
promised tearfully. 

“ I would rather stay home with you, father ! ” 
she declared. 

But Mr. Barlow smiled and said : “ Here 
comes the coach. So remember that you are a 
brave little Connecticut girl, and don't let Mr. 
Pettigrew see Miss Ellen Elizabeth Barlow cry- 
ing." 

In a moment, with a great flourish, the big 
stage-coach with its four brown horses drew up 
directly in front of the gate, and Elbe's trunk 
was lifted to the back of the coach, and Ellie 
and her bandbox were safe inside. There were 
more good-byes ; the stage-driver waved his 
whip, the horses started, and Ellie, grasping the 
bandbox with one hand and the lunch basket 
with the other, was off for the long-hoped-for 
visit. As she leaned from the coach window 
and waved her handkerchief to the little group 
at the gate she forgot all about the joys in store 
for her. She was going away from home for the 
first time, and for a moment she was ready to 


A LITTLE MAID 


46 

stop the coach and give up the visit. Then she 
heard a pleasant voice say : “ Well, young 

miss ! Off to Hartford, are you ? ” and she 
looked around to find herself facing a pleasant 
elderly lady who sat beside her. 

“ Yes, ma’am,” Ellie replied. “ I am going 
to visit my grandmother.” 

The old lady laughed and nodded. Her 
laugh was so pleasant a sound that Ellie wished 
she might hear it again. 

“ Then we are really good traveling comparf- 
ions, for I am going to visit my grandchildren,” 
said the old lady. “ But I am more fortunate 
than you are. For you have only one grand- 
mother to see, while I have four little grand- 
daughters.” 

“ Yes, ma’am,” Ellie agreed, hoping that the 
old lady would laugh again. But her com- 
panion was opening a fine velvet bag, and in 
a moment she held out a round box toward 
Ellie. 

“ A bit of rock-candy ? 99 she suggested, and 
Ellie helped herself to a piece, thinking that 
after all it was a fine thing to go on a journey. 

The other passengers were men, evidently 
tired by their journey. They took no notice of 




BIT OF ROCK. CANDY ? 



























































































' 







OF OLD CONNECTICUT 47 

the old lady or of Ellie, who had the back seat 
to themselves. 

“ I’ve come a longdistance, way from Albany/ 7 
said the old lady. “ To be sure, I have stopped 
over a couple of nights on the way, but 7 tis a 
hard journey. 77 

“ Yes, ma'am,” Ellie agreed politely, wonder- 
ing if it would be polite to ask the names of the 
granddaughters. But she decided that it would 
not be, for her mother had often cautioned her 
about asking questions, and told her that what- 
ever people wished her to know they would tell 
her. So Ellie smiled at her new friend and 
thanked her for the candy. Then she said : 

“My name is Ellen Elizabeth Barlow, but 
they call me Ellie for a baby name." 

“Thank you, my dear. My name is Mrs. 
Abigail Mason Ludlow, and I am very happy 
to make your acquaintance/ 7 replied Mrs. Lud- 
low, with a little bow, which Ellie imitated as 
well as she could. 

“ And now that we are really acquainted I 
must ask what you think of His Majesty, the 
King? 77 asked Mrs. Ludlow. 

“ Why, he is not fair to the American Colo- 
nies/ 7 Ellie replied, repeating what she had so 


A LITTLE MAID 


48 

often heard her elders say in so sober a tone 
that Mrs. Ludlow's eyes seemed to dance, and 
she nodded approvingly, and again opened her 
fine bag. 

“ I can see that you are no Tory child/' she 
said, again holding out the round box. “ Have 
a bit of candy, my dear," and again Ellie helped 
herself, and thanked Mrs. Ludlow. 

The pleasant breeze drifted in through the 
open windows as the coach dashed along over 
the country roads. Ellie looked out with de- 
lighted eyes at the fields and woodlands, and 
when the man who always sat on a high seat 
at the back of the coach, and always jumped 
down to open the door for passengers, and to 
help with baggage, blew his long horn as they 
neared some little settlement or remote farm- 
house the little girl smiled happily and thought 
to herself that it was really a wonderful thing 
to ride in the big coach. Her bandbox was on 
the seat beside her, and every now and then she 
would take hold of the broad tape with which 
her mother had fastened it. 

“ You take great care of your bandbox, my 
dear , 9 said Mrs. Ludlow, and was surprised at 
Ellie’s sudden start. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 49 

“ I suppose it contains your best hat,” she 
added. 

“ Yes, ma’am. It is of blue shirred silk,” 
Ellie responded, hoping that Mrs. Ludlow might 
not ask for a peep at it. For Ellie had sud- 
denly become afraid of the secret which the 
bandbox held. Suppose, she thought, that 
Steve’s prisoner really was a British spy, and 
that she was carrying some message for him to 
the enemies of American freedom? The very 
thought made the little girl shiver. “ I won’t 
take it out of the bandbox at all,” she resolved. 
“ Then no harm can be done.” 

“ We will be stopping to change horses soon, 
I expect,” said Mrs. Ludlow, “ and I hope I can 
get a cup of tea.” 

At this one of the men on the front seat 
turned, and, taking off his hat, said : “ Yes, 
madam. We are very near the tavern where 
fresh horses will be put in, and you can get a 
cup of tea, or an excellent meal. I pass this 
way often.” 

“ Thank you, sir,” replied Mrs. Ludlow. 

“ I have a luncheon in my basket. There is 
enough for us both,” said Ellie. 

“ You are very kind, my dear, and I will be 


5 ° A LITTLE MAID 

happy to share your luncheon. With a cup of 
good tea I shall be greatly refreshed,” responded 
Ellie’s new friend. 

In a short time the coach drew up in front of 
a long brick house near the road. The man on 
the high seat called out: “ Thirty minutes’ 
stop,” leaped lightly to the ground and opened 
the coach door. 

The passengers were all eager to get out. 
Mrs. Ludlow declared that it was the best news 
she could hear that she could have a cup of 
tea. At last Ellie was the only one remaining 
in the coach. 

Come, my child. It will do you good to 
run about a little. Your journey is not yet 
half over,” said Mrs. Ludlow, and Ellie rather 
reluctantly followed her, holding the bandbox 
very carefully. 

“ You need not take the bandbox, Ellen ; it 
will be quite safe in the coach,” said her friend. 

“ If y° u please, I think I must take it,” Ellie 
responded, in so serious a tone that Mrs. Ludlow 
decided that the little girl must be very proud 
of the blue shirred silk hat. 

But Ellie was not thinking of the hat ; she 
was thinking of the little package. If it was 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 51 

some information about Connecticut soldiers for 
the enemy and if it was found in her bandbox 
she dared not think what might befall her. She 
resolved that, no matter what any one might 
say, she would not let the bandbox out of her 
sight for a moment. 


CHAPTER V 


ELLIE HEARS OF A SPY 

Ellie sat down beside Mrs. Ludlow at a long 
table in the front room of the inn. A pleasant- 
faced waitress brought her a glass of milk and a 
cup of tea for Mrs. Ludlow, and they enjoyed 
the excellent luncheon from Ellie’s basket. 

The bandbox stood on the floor beside her 
chair, where she could touch it with her foot, 
but Ellie was uneasy, and glad when the time 
came to take her place in the coach. When the 
fresh horses started off* at a fine pace she smiled 
with such evident satisfaction that Mrs. Ludlow 
smiled also, and said : “ I can see that you will 
be glad to reach Hartford.” 

“ I have never been on a visit before,” said 
Ellie, “ and I have never had any little girl 
neighbors ; and my grandmother has four little 
girl neighbors who will come and see me.” 

“ Have you no sisters ? ” questioned Mrs. 
Ludlow. 


52 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 53 

Then Ellie told her about Stephen and Will, 
and how much Steve wanted to be a soldier. 
But she did not tell of her brothers prisoner. 
Her mother and father had both cautioned her 
not to speak of David Barlow to any one. Not 
even to Grandmother Hinman was she to tell of 
the deserter, if such he really proved to be. 

Now and then some traveler on horseback 
would pass the coach, and once a number of 
men rode by at so swift a pace that the pas- 
sengers in the coach leaned out to look after 
them, and one of the men on the middle seat 
said they were American soldiers. 

“ General Washington has asked for more 
men,” said the man who had told Mrs. Ludlow 
about the inn, “ and these fellows are probably 
on their way to join the American forces. Con- 
necticut men are always ready,” he concluded. 

“ And are you an American soldier, sir ? ” 
asked Mrs. Ludlow. 

“ I have that honor, madam,” replied the 
young man smilingly ; “ but just now I am on 
special service. I am on the outlook for a 
young English spy who is reported to be at 
work near Hartford.” 

As Ellie heard this she nearly fell from her 


A LITTLE MAID 


54 

seat, and she looked at the young American with 
such an expression of terror that he could not 
but notice it, and he smiled and nodded in a 
friendly manner. 

“ Do not be afraid, little maid. An English 
spy is not greatly to be feared, and I shall soon 
have him safe.” 

“ Is — is — is the spy an old man ? ” questioned 
Ellie. 

“ Why, no. The fellow I am after is not 
much more than a lad, but a very clever lad,” 
replied the man. 

Ellie was sure now that Steve's suspicion of 
his prisoner had been right. It was all too 
dreadful, she thought. Here she was journey- 
ing to Hartford and carrying a message for the 
enemy of America in her fine bandbox. 

“ Oh ! I must go home I I must ! ” she cried, 
in so unhappy a tone that all the passengers 
turned to look at her. 

“ Why, is the child frightened at the very 
name of an English soldier?” asked the young 
man. “ I am sorry I spoke.” 

. “ ’Tis her first absence from home,” replied 
Mrs. Ludlow, putting her arm about Ellie ; 
“she will soon smile again. You will be in 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 55 

Hartford in an hour or so, my dear ; quite safe 
with your grandmother/' she said. 

“ I'm not afraid," declared Ellie, “ but the 


The young man looked at her sharply, but 
when Ellie added, “ I want to tell my father," 
he smiled again. 

“ Oh, your father will know a spy when he 
sees him, never fear," he said reassuringly. But 
Ellie was very quiet all the rest of the journey. 
She sat very close to Mrs. Ludlow, and as they 
now passed through villages and came nearer to 
the town of Hartford Mrs. Ludlow would point 
out some place of interest to the little girl, en- 
deavoring to make her forget the English spy. 

“ I suppose you know all about the Charter 
Oak, do you not?" questioned Mrs. Ludlow, 
and when Ellie shook her head, Mrs. Ludlow 
seemed greatly surprised. 

“ Why, 'tis as fine a story as you could wish 
to hear," she declared, “ and the old charter was 
a pattern for an American Commonwealth. 
You must see the oak ; 'tis not too far to visit. 
Why, I will take you myself, since we are both 
to be visitors in Hartford. Now, where does 
your grandmother live?" 


56 


A LITTLE MAID 


“In Market Square,” Ellie replied. “The 
stage-driver is to leave me at her house.” 

“ Well, well ! And my daughter’s house is in 
Market Square also. We will be neighbors, and 
I will surely set a day to visit the Charter Oak 
with you, said Mrs. Ludlow, and for a moment 
Ellie forgot the spy. She recalled that Mrs. 
Ludlow had said that she had four little grand- 
daughters. Perhaps they were the little Chaplin 
girls. She was quite sure that it would not be 
impolite to ask. 

“ If you please, are your little granddaughters’ 
names Bertha and Mildred and Nancy and 
Lucy ? ” she asked. 

“ Why, yes, indeed ! ” replied Mrs. Ludlow, 
with the laugh which Ellie thought so delight- 
ful, “ and are they your grandmother’s neigh- 
bors ? Now, we will all have a beautiful visit 
together. Why, we could not have planned 
anything better than this if we had known each 
other for years.” 

Ellie smiled happily. It was surely a happy 
chance that had given her Mrs. Ludlow for a 
traveling companion, and the kindly old lady 
began to tell her about Bertha and Mildred, both 
of whom had visited her in Albany in the pre- 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 57 

vious summer. She said that Bertha must be 
taller than Ellie. “ And she is old for her years, 
a very thoughtful, useful girl,” declared the 
proud grandmother. “ I know your Grand- 
mother Hinman very well, my dear, and she 
has been a kind friend and neighbor to my 
daughter.” 

“ Would you tell me the story about the 
Charter Oak?” asked Ellie, feeling sure that 
the little Chaplin girls must know all about it, 
and if they should ask her about it and she did 
not know she would feel that Bertha and Mil- 
dred might think her an ignorant girl. 

“ Yes, my dear ; I will tell you to the best of 
my ability.” 

The young American soldier turned about 
and was evidently desirous of hearing the 
story. 

“ Of course you know that Hartford was a fine 
town a hundred years ago? Yes, indeed. And 
the people of Connecticut had a charter, that is, 
an agreement signed by King Charles II, giving 
them the rights of free and independent men. 
Well, when a new king came to England's throne 
he decided that he would take away this charter, 
and in 1687 he sent Sir Edward Andros to take 


58 A LITTLE MAID 

the charter. The fine Englishman arrived in 
Hartford ; the charter was brought to him at 
twilight, and as it lay on the table before him — 
out went the candles — there was a rustling of 
paper, and when the candles were relighted the 
charter was gone. But every one was in the 
room I 

“ Well, of course there was a great search | 
But it was not found. No indeed ! It had been 
slipped through the window to young Wads- 
worth, who was off and away with it to the 
house of Farmer Wyllis, where the paper was 
safely hidden in a cavity in the old oak. And 
it was in that manner that it was kept from 
English hands.” 

EHie gave a long breath of satisfaction, and 
the young man nodded approvingly. “The 
tree has another story as well as the hiding of 
the charter,” he said. “It was planted by an 
Indian sachem as a pledge of perpetual peace 
with the people of Connecticut, and the Indians 
buried their tomahawks under it.” 

“ Shall we go to see the tree very soon ? ” 
EHie questioned, quite forgetting her resolve to 
return home on the very next day, even if she 
had to walk all the distance. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 59 

a Just as soon as possible, my dear. Perhaps 
we shall have a picnic, my little granddaughters, 
your grandmother, and you and I,” replied Mrs. 
Ludlow. 

And now the coach had really entered Hart- 
ford. The guard's bugle calls sounded louder, 
the horses seemed to go faster, and the driver's 
whip was flourished in wonderful sweeps as they 
rounded corners, drove past shops and houses 
and finally drew up before the door of a fine 
brick mansion-house. In an instant the coach 
door swung open, the steps were lowered, and 
Ellie was at her journey's end. Grandmother 
Hinman was coming down the little path to 
the street to welcome her, and two little girls 
came running toward the coach, calling out: 
“ Grandma Ludlow ! Grandma Ludlow ! ” So 
that in a moment after her grandmother's greet- 
ing Ellie found herself smiling up at a tall girl 
whose eyes were exactly like Mrs. Ludlow's, 
and heard her grandmother say : 

“ Bertha, this is my little granddaughter, 
Ellen. I hope you will be fast friends." 

The tall girl smiled soberly and held out her 
hand. “ How do you do ? " she said. “ This is 
my sister Mildred," and Mildred nodded and 


6o 


A LITTLE MAID 


bowed, but did not seem to notice that Ellen ex- 
pected to shake hands. 

Then with good-nights the little group sep- 
arated, and Grandmother Hinman led Ellie into 
the big hall and up the broad stairs to a square 
room at the back of the house, the windows of 
which overlooked the most beautiful garden 
that the little girl had ever seen. 

Oh, grandma ! I meant to bring you some 
of my yellow roses, and I forgot all about it I ” 
exclaimed Ellie, as she noticed a blue bowl 
filled with yellow roses on a table in the corner 
of the room. 

“ Well, dear child, I am more pleased to see 
you than any rose you could bring,” responded 
grandmother. “ This room was your mother’s 
room, my dear. And this bedspread is one she 
knit when she was no older than you are/’ and 
Mrs. Hinman touched the snowy cover of the 
bed, with its four tall slender posts. 

“Here is Hannah Jane,” continued grandma 
when, alter a loud rap on the door, it swung 
open and a tall woman with wide shoulders, and 
looking very stem and silent, came into the 
room. 

Ihis is Ellen, Hannah Jane,” said grandma ; 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 61 


and the big woman set down the pitcher of hot 
water, and nodded severely. 

“ I trust your mither and fa-a-ther are well, 
Miss Ellen,” she said. 

“ Yes, thank you,” Ellen responded, rather 
faintly, for she felt a little afraid of this stern 
person, “ and my mother sent her love to you,” 
she added. 

At this a broad smile crept over the woman’s 
face. 

“ Did she now ? Weel ! Tis herself that was 
always the best of young ladies. An’ I have 
small doubt but that you’ll do her credit,” she 
said, nodding pleasantly. 

Then she stalked out of the room, and in a 
moment Grandma Hinman followed, saying : 
“ Come right down to the dining-room, dear.' 
Hannah Jane’s hot biscuit will be cooling.” 

“ I must ask her to tell me about the Scotch 
rose,” thought Ellie, as she filled the big basin 
with warm water and began bathing her hands 
and face. 

“ Oh ! ” she exclaimed suddenly, looking 
about the room. “ Where is my bandbox? ” 

She ran about looking in every part of the 
chamber, and opened the closet door. But the 


62 A LITTLE MAID 

bandbox was not to be found. Peter, the man 
who took care of the garden, cleaned windows, 
and tended fires, had brought up the little 
leather trunk, which grandma had said they 
would unpack after supper, but there was no 
bandbox to be seen. 


CHAPTER VI 


THE SCOTCH ROSE 

“ Oh ! What can I do I What can I do ! 99 
Ellie exclaimed aloud, as she searched the room 
for the missing box. For she had now con- 
vinced herself that Barlay’s errand was surely 
some dangerous message for the enemies of 
American freedom, and she quite forgot all her 
delight in the beautiful garden she had seen 
from her chamber windows, and the joys in 
store for her in the friendship of the little 
Chaplin girls. 

She heard the sound of a tinkling bell, but 
did not understand that it was a call to supper 
until Grandmother Hinman opened the door. 

“ Why, my dear child, surely you are not 
homesick ? ” she exclaimed, noticing Elbe's 
tear-stained cheeks and her unhappy expres- 
sion. 

“ No, grandma," said Ellie, choking back a 
sob, but not daring to speak of the lost band- 
63 


A LITTLE MAID 


64 

box. Some way, she resolved, she must recover 
the bandbox without any one knowing of how 
careless she had been. So she went down to 
supper. But she hardly noticed the fine silver 
dishes on the table, or the candlesticks which 
shone so brightly on the tall mantelpiece. She 
had so little appetite for the hot biscuit and 
broiled trout, or for the square of rich cake, that 
Mrs. Hinman and Hannah Jane exchanged anx- 
ious looks over their little visitor. 

“ I think you are tired, and must go early to 
bed, my dear,” grandmother said as they left 
the dining-room together. Before Ellie could 
respond there sounded a loud knock at the front 
door, and Ellie heard a gruff voice saying some- 
thing in regard to a bandbox. 

“ Oh ! It’s my bandbox ! ” she exclaimed, 
running toward the hall, and meeting Hannah 
Jane who was coming toward them carrying the 
box. 

“ I forgot it. I left it in the coach,” exclaimed 
Ellie. 

“ Weel, weel ! The man as fetched it said he 
wondered at ye forgettin* it, since ye hardly let 
go of it for the journey,” said Hannah Jane. 

I don t know how I could have forgotten 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 65 

it,” said Ellie very soberly. 14 It is my fine 
shirred hat of blue silk,” she explained, and she 
picked up the treasured box with such an ex- 
pression of satisfaction that her grandmother 
and Hannah Jane both smiled. 

Ellie was so rejoiced to have the bandbox safe 
and sound that she quite forgot to worry about 
the contents, and ran up-stairs talking happily 
to Grandma Hinman, and telling her all the 
messages her mother had sent. 

“ And mother will send me a letter by the 
coach next Thursday ; and I am to send her 
a letter by Mr. Pettigrew. I will have a great 
deal to tell her,” she said, thinking of Mrs. Lud- 
low, the little Chaplin girls, and her grand- 
mother's fine garden. 

“ Will you tell me the story of your yellow 
rose-tree to-morrow, grandma ? ” she asked, as 
Grandmother Hinman helped her unpack the 
little trunk and hung the pretty silk dress in 
the closet. 

“ Yes, indeed ; 'tis a story which I have told 
your mother many times,” replied Mrs. Hin- 
man, 44 and when we go out to the garden to- 
morrow morning you shall hear all about Queen 
Mary's rose.” 


66 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ But I thought it was a Scotch rose ? ” said 
Ellie. 

“So it is, my dear. But Scotland’s queen 
brought it from France for her garden at Holy- 
rood.” 

“ Oh, grandma I From France ! Every time 
I ask about my rose I hear something new. 
My rose came from your garden, and your rose 
came from Holyrood, and the rose-tree there 
came from France ! Why, it must be a wonder- 
ful story,” said Ellie, hoping that her grand- 
mother would tell her the story that very night. 

But Mrs. Hinman smiled and nodded, and 
said that it was a wonderful story, and that 
Ellie should hear it the very next day. “ But 
now, my dear, you must say your prayers and 
go to sleep, for you must be tired,” she con- 
cluded, leaning over to give Ellie her good- 
night kiss, and a moment later Ellie was in the 
big bed thinking of all the good times which were 
sure to begin the next morning. She began to 
say over the story of her yellow rose : “ My 
garden, grandma’s garden, Holyrood garden, 

France ” but her eyes closed and she was 

off to dreamland, to sleep soundly until the 
morning sun came streaming into the chamber. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 67 

For a moment Ellie looked around the room 
with wondering eyes. She thought she must 
still be asleep. Then she exclaimed aloud, 
sitting up in bed : “ Oh ! This is my grand- 
mother's ; I am on a visit to Hartford ! " 

“ Yes, indeed ! " responded grandma, who 
had just entered the room, “ and Bertha and 
Mildred Chaplin have come in to take break- 
fast with us ; and there are strawberries and 
griddle-cakes for breakfast." 

Ellie hastened to dress, and to brush out her 
dark curls and tie them back with a narrow 
crimson ribbon which Grandmother Hinman 
gave her. She put on a dress of white linen 
which her mother had woven and made for her, 
and white stockings which she had knit herself, 
and when she was quite ready her grandmother 
looked at her with approving eyes. 

“ I hope the little Chaplin girls will like me, 
grandmother," Ellie whispered as they went 
down the wide stairs. 

“ Of course they will, my dear child ; of 
course they will," replied Mrs. Hinman, quite 
sure that no one could help liking her dark- 
eyed little granddaughter. 

The dining-room seemed full of sunshine. It 


68 A LITTLE MAID 

came in through the two open windows, and 
danced across the polished floor, glimmering on 
the white table-cloth and the tall pewter pitcher, 
and shining back from the mirror over the high 
mantel. As Ellie came into the room and 
Bertha and Mildred turned from one of the 
windows where they were standing, she thought 
that their hair was exactly like sunlight— it 
was so yellow and shining. 

Ihe two sisters smiled and said good-morning 
in such friendly tones that Ellie felt that the 
good times had already begun. 

Bertha said that Mrs. Ludlow sent her love, 
and hoped that Ellie would soon come and see 
her. As soon as breakfast was over Grandma 
Hinman led the way to the garden. A door 
from the dining-room opened directly on a 
terrace where mignonette, larkspurs, columbines, 
and clumps of iris grew. Two or three steps led 
from the terrace to the rose-garden, where, over 
a rustic summer-house, climbed the yellow rose- 
tree. There were many other roses, white and 
ciimson, and a delicate pink. All around the 
garden were shrubs, and a high hedge of prickly 
thorn. There was an opening in this hedge 
which led into a prosperous vegetable garden, 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 69 

where potatoes, cabbages, beets, turnips and car- 
rots and many other vegetables grew ; and where 
Peter, Hannah Jane’s brother, was now at work. 

“ The summer-house is always pleasant in the 
morning,” said Grandmother Hinman, “and the 
yellow rose is now in full bloom. You can see 
how well it has liked its home,” and she pointed 
to the stout trunk of the rose-tree, from which 
many sturdy branches grew. 

There was a broad, comfortable seat built all 
around the inside of the arbor, and here the 
little party sat down. Grandma took out from 
the bag which she carried the yarn sock she 
was knitting ; and Bertha and Mildred, from a 
deep pocket in the apron they each wore, also 
drew out their shining needles and balls of gray 
yarn. For the soldiers of the American army 
depended on the women of the country for their 
supply of clothing, and there were few idle 
hands in city or country. 

“ I have not any work ! ” said Ellie, ashamed 
to sit idle when the others were so busily oc- 
cupied. 

“ I will take up a stocking for you this after- 
noon,” replied grandma, “ but this morning it 
will do no harm for you to be idle.” 


A LITTLE MAID 


70 

“ Was Queen Mary a little girl when she 
planted her rose-bush ? ” asked Mildred. 

“ Not when she planted the rose-tree at Holy- 
rood. She was a fine young lady then, who had 
just safely returned from France," replied grand- 
mother. 

“ You see, Mary Stuart's mother wanted her 
little daughter to grow up in France, thinking 
that she would have greater advantages there 
than in Scotland ; so when Mary was about six 
years old she was taken to the court of the King 
of France where she was warmly received. 

“ Now, when little Mary Stuart went to France 
a party of friends went with her ; and there 
were four other little girls in the party. And 
every one of these four was named Mary." 

Bertha and Ellie smiled at each other. A 
story about five little girls all with the same 
name was sure to be a fine story, they thought. 

“ Well," continued grandma, “ the young 
Queen Mary was very fond of garden work, and 
in her own garden at St. Germain was a rose- 
bush with so many little yellow roses that she 
declared it was the loveliest rose in all the 
garden. So the other little girls began calling 
it ‘ Queen Mary's Rose.' But the servants of the 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 71 

household and her friends called it the * Scotch 
Rose/ because Mary was Queen of Scotland. 
And Queen Mary herself began to call it the 
Scotch Rose. 

“ When she grew up into young womanhood 
and married a French prince and on his death 
decided to return to her own country, she said 
to her four Marys that she must take her Scotch 
rose to Edinburgh ; and the story is that her 
friends had the rose-tree carefully dug up with a 
great deal of earth, and that it was cared for 
tenderly on the journey and set out in a sunny 
corner of the garden of Holyrood ; and the 
gardener there gave my father the little slip from 
which this very rose-tree grew,” concluded 
grandmother, pointing a knitting needle toward 
the beautiful yellow roses which nodded over 
the arbor. 

“ Oh ! ” exclaimed Mildred, drawing a long 
breath, “ I think that is a fine story. I like true 
stories.” 

“ So do I,” declared both the other girls. 

“ I wish our names were all the same,” said 
Bertha thoughtfully. 

Grandmother Hinman said that she would 
now have to return to the house, but that the 


7 2 A LITTLE MAID 

girls could stay in the arbor, or walk about in 
the garden ; and she left the little girls to make 
friends. 

Mrs. Hinman had hardly left the arbor when 
Bertha jumped up and said : “ I’ve thought of 
a lovely plan. With Nancy and Lucy and we 
three there are five little girls, just as there were 
with Queen Mary.” 

“But our names are not the same,” objected 
Mildred. J 

“ Wait, Mildred I I suppose our names could 
be all the same, couldn’t they? I don’t mean 
‘ Mar y-’ But we can think of some fine name 
and then we can call each other by it, but not 
before other people,” replied Bertha, slipping 
her knitting into her apron pocket. 

“Then it is to be a secret? ” asked Ellie, her 
eyes shining with delight ; for to have a secret 
with four other girls seemed to her as wonderful 
as the story of the Scotch rose. 

We could all be Rose,” she suggested. 

“So we could! That is splendid. Then if we 
forgot and said ‘ Rose ’ before other people, they 
wouldn’t think it strange,” agreed Bertha. “ But 
as it will be our secret society we must meet this 
afternoon and plan what we’ll do, and take vows.” 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 


73 


“ What are ‘ vows ’ ? ” asked Ellie. 

“ A vow is a solemn promise. And we will 
have to be sure it is solemn if we want Nancy 
and Lucy not to tell,” replied Bertha. 


CHAPTER VII 


FORT DANGER 

It was agreed that Ellie should go over to the 
Chaplin house that afternoon to become ac- 
quainted with Nancy and Lucy, the two younger 
girls, and to pay her respects to Mrs. Ludlow. 
Mrs. Hinman was greatly pleased that her little 
granddaughter should be so ready to make 
friends with the Chaplin girls, and Hannah 
Jane went with Ellie to Mrs. Chaplin's door. 

Mrs. Ludlow was sitting on the porch and 
greeted Ellie warmly. 

“ And where is the bandbox?" she asked 
laughingly, but was sorry for her question when 
she saw how sober the little girl became. For 
Ellie had not thought of the secret packet, and 
now she at once remembered all that it might 
mean. Before she could answer two little girls 
came running out on the porch and stood beside 
Mrs. Ludlow's chair, looking shyly toward Ellie. 
They both had brown curls and brown eyes, and 
74 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 75 

although Nancy was eight and Lucy only six 
they were very nearly of a size. 

“ Nancy and Lucy, this is my friend Miss 
Ellen Barlow,” said Mrs. Ludlow, and Nancy 
and Lucy both curtsied very prettily, and smiled 
shyly at the older girl. Before these greetings 
were over Bertha and Mildred appeared and 
suggested that Ellie should go into the garden 
with them. 

“ Tis not so fine a garden as Madame Hin- 
man’s, but 'tis a fine place to play,” said Bertha, 
leading the way down the path and around to 
the back of the house. There was no terrace or 
arbor in the Chaplin garden, but there were a 
number of fine cherry trees, now covered with 
nearly ripened fruit. There were several tall 
elms whose spreading branches made a pleasant 
shade in one corner of the enclosure, many 
blossoming shrubs, and here and there beds of 
peonies, columbine and sweet-scented herbs. 

The garden was enclosed by a brick wall, and 
just beyond the elm trees a gate opened into a 
field which sloped down to the river. Bertha led 
the way across the garden, and opened the gate, 
and waited until the others had passed through, 
then she closed the gate and latched it carefully. 


7 6 


A LITTLE MAID 


“There are cows in this field, and we are 
always careful to fasten the gate,” she explained 
to Ellie, “ so they won't get into the garden.” 

Mildred and Lucy ran on ahead toward the 
river, and Nancy, who kept very close to Ellie, 
cried eagerly : 

“ Shall we go in wading, Bertha ? There's a 
lovely place,” she continued, turning to Ellie, 
“a shady cove. Mother lets us go wading 
nearly every day.” 

“ We must not go wading to-day. We did 
not ask permission,” replied Bertha soberly. 

Nancy seemed quite sure that whatever 
Bertha said must be right, and nothing more 
was said just then about wading. 

“ Nancy, we have something very serious to 
tell you and Lucy,” continued Bertha as they 
walked on. “ It's something you can never tell 
unless Ellen, Mildred, Lucy and I all agree to 
let you.” 

“ I won't tell I ” Nancy promised eagerly. 

“ What is it, Bertha ? ” 

“ Wait until we get to the fort, and I will tell 
you,” replied Bertha. 

Ellie wondered if they were going to a real 
fort, but she did not ask. She was soon to dis- 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 77 

cover that Bertha loved everything that had to 
do with brave deeds, and that her new playmate 
knew no end of wonderful stories. She had 
already warned Ellie not to touch the toad- 
stools. “ If you do the fairies won't like you/' 
she had explained, “ because fairies dance on 
the toadstools 1 " 

They soon crossed the field and reached the 
bank of the river where Mildred and Lucy were 
waiting. The bank shelved steeply down to 
the water, and there were clumps of meadow- 
sweet growing all along the slope. About half- 
way down the bank there was a little shelf, or 
natural platform. 

“ That is the fort," said Bertha, pointing to 
it. “We call it Fort Danger, because, you see, 
it is dangerous to get down there, and dangerous 
to get back." 

“ How do you get down ? " Ellie questioned a 
little fearfully. 

“Oh, we slide down. Like this," said Mil- 
dred, stepping one foot carefully over the edge, 
sitting down on the slippery grass, which she 
clutched now and then in order not to go too 
rapidly. 

“ That’s the way," she called, as she landed 


7 8 A LITTLE MAID 

safely and looked up at the others. “ You come 
next, Ellie.” 

It seemed a dangerous adventure to Ellie as 
she stood looking down the steep slope. Suppose 
she did not stop on the shelf but went straight 
over, splash into the river. 

“ Don’t be afraid. Why, even Lucy isn’t 
afraid, and she is only six years old,” called 
Mildred. 

“ I’m not afraid,” Ellie replied, and following 
Mildred’s example she was quickly standing be- 
side Mildred ; and in a few moments all five of 
the little girls stood on the terrace-like pro- 
jection. 

“ How do we get back ? ” asked Ellie, looking 
up at the steep slippery bank down which she 
had slid so quickly. 

“ We can’t get back that way,” explained Ber- 
tha. “ We have to go down and take the river 
path which runs along the edge of the field.” 

There were piles of small stones heaped up 
on the edge of the terrace. The Chaplin girls 
explained that these were “ munition,” to fire at 
the enemy. 

“ What enemy ? ” questioned Ellie. 

“ Oh, we make believe that we are early set- 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 79 

tiers, and that the Indians come and try to 
drive us away. Don’t you ever play make- 
believe games ? ” replied Mildred. 

Ellie shook her head. “ No ; you see, I’ve 
never had anybody to play with,” she said, 
“ but I think ‘ make-believe ’ must be splendid.” 

“ Yes ; we have lots of ‘ make-believes,’ ” said 
Bertha. “ That’s why I thought about five of 
us all having one name.” 

“ Is that the secret, Bertha ? ” asked Nancy. 

“ Part of it. You see, Nancy, once there was 
a queen in Scotland, a little girl queen. And 
her name was Mary, and there were four other 
little girls who were her playmates and each 
one of these little girls was also named 1 Mary.’ 
So when Mrs. Hinman told us about them I 
thought right off that we five could all make be- 
lieve that our names were all alike,” said Bertha. 

“ Names all alike,” repeated Lucy, who was 
not always included in the games of the older 
girls, and was now overjoyed to find that she 
was not to be left out. 

“ Ellen thinks that 1 Rose ’ would be a good 
name,” continued Bertha, “ and I think so, 
too.” 


What else? ” questioned Lucy. 


8o 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ Well, of course, we must begin by always 
wearing a rose,” answered Bertha. “ I don’t 
mean a real rose, but we can make some tiny 
roses out of pieces of silk and wear those. Of 
course none of us can be a queen, because it’s 
kings and queens who make so much trouble 
for America. But we must make vows to each 
other.” 

“ What about? ” questioned Mildred. 

“ We, five Roses, vow solemnly to stand by 
each other in all true deeds, and to keep this 
meeting a secret pact,” said Bertha. “ I don’t 
know what 'pact’ means, but it’s in one of 
father’s books, so it’s all right.” 

Ellie looked at her new friend admiringly. 
It seemed to her that Bertha was the most won- 
derful girl in all the world. 

“ Now all hold up your" right hands and re- 
peat it after me,” said Bertha, and with great 
solemnity the five little girls repeated the vow 
declaring themselves five Roses. Ellie won- 
dered just what Bertha meant by "true deeds,” 
and when they were all comfortably seated on 
the soft grass she said : 

“ What is a ‘ true deed,’ Bertha ? ” 

Bertha’s eyes shone just as Ellie remembered 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 81 

Mrs. Ludlow's had done when she had spoken 
of American soldiers, and she answered quickly : 

“ A true deed is something splendid ; like 
doing some brave act to help America ; or sav- 
ing somebody's life. Of course girls don’t have 
as many chances to do brave deeds as boys do,” 
she concluded a little mournfully. 

“ Would finding a spy be a brave deed ? ” 
asked Ellie. 

“ Why, yes,” said Bertha. “ It would if you 
captured him yourself, and delivered him to 
justice.” 

Ellie wished that she could tell Bertha about 
Barlay, and ask her what it was best to do 
about the package in the flowered bandbox. 
But she remembered that her mother and 
father had cautioned her not to speak of the 
young Englishman to any one. 

While Bertha and Ellie were talking the 
other girls had left the “ fort ” by sliding down 
the slope to the river path, and now called up 
for Bertha and Ellie to join them. 

This slide was even more steep than the other, 
and Ellie was glad when Nancy said : “ We 

come to Fort Danger only when we have secrets 
to tell, or something serious to plan.” To Ellie 


82 


A LITTLE MAID 


it seemed a “ brave deed ” to reach the fort, and 
a very difficult thing to get away. 

Near the foot of the bluff was a sandy beach, 
overhung by the branches of a tall elm tree. 

“ There is where we go in wading,” said Mil- 
dred, pointing toward the little cove. “ I wish 
we had asked permission to go in to-day. It 
is so warm.” 

The girls were standing on a grassy bank at 
the edge of the stream. Ellie was nearest to 
the water, and suddenly she felt the grass yield 
beneath her feet, and at the same instant heard 
Mildred call : “ Don’t step there, Ellen I ” 

But the warning came too late. She had 
stepped on some long grass which overhung the 
bank, and had fallen into the river. She was 
absolutely helpless, and every effort that she 
made to regain the shore sent her farther out 
into deeper water. She was thoroughly fright- 
ened, and when the water swept her entirely off 
her feet she called out wildly. At that moment 
she was seized by each arm, and half led, half 
carried to shore. 


CHAPTER VIII 


THE PACKAGE VANISHES 

When Bertha and Mildred realized that Ellie 
could not help herself in her efforts to reach 
the shore they had both waded into the water to 
her assistance. And now three very wet and 
bedraggled little girls stood on the shore, while 
Nancy and Lucy, frightened and silent, stood 
looking at them. 

Ellie’s hat had drifted off beyond reach. Her 
hair hung over her face, her buckled shoes were 
spoiled, and her white stockings and dress cov- 
ered with mud. Bertha and Mildred were 
splashed and dripping, but were not in nearly so 
bad a condition as their new friend. 

“ I’m drowned 1 ” sobbed Ellie. “ I fell in and 
drowned.” 

“ We must hurry home as fast as we can,’* 
said Bertha, who had knelt down beside Ellie 
and was trying to wring some of the water from 
Ellie’s skirt. “ Don’t cry, Ellen. It was all our 
83 


A LITTLE MAID 


84 

fault. We ought to have told you not to go so 
near the river.” 

Ellie’s sobs ceased quickly. 11 1 never fell in 
a river before,” she said, as if to explain her 
fright. “ I think you were both brave to come 
in after me.” 

“ Oh, we can both swim. And even if we 
had not been able to swim, of course we would 
have come and helped you,” said Bertha, as they 
made their way along the river path toward 
home. 

At every step Ellie could hear the “ slush, 
slush ” of the water in her fine shoes, of which 
she had always been so careful. 

“ I think it was a 1 true deed 1 for you to wade 
right out into that wide river,” persisted Ellie, 
“ and you kept the vow : 1 to stand by each 
other in all true deeds/ ” 

“ So we did ! ” exclaimed Mildred, “ but I 
never thought about the vow.” 

Nancy and Lucy had run on ahead, and when 
the other three girls reached the gate which led 
into the garden Mrs. Ludlow and Mrs. Chaplin 
were running across the garden toward them. 

“ I fell in the river and drowned,” Ellie ex- 
plained cheerfully, being quite sure that a 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 85 

thorough drenching and being drowned must be 
the same. “ And Bertha and Mildred did a 
true deed and brought me out/’ she added. 

1 will step over to Mrs. Hinman's with 
Ellen, and explain to her,” suggested Mrs. Lud- 
low, while Mrs. Chaplin hurried Bertha and 
Mildred up-stairs to put on dry clothing. 

The fact that the “ Five Boses ” had lived up 
to their secret vow was a great comfort to the 
girls. Ellie wished that Mrs. Ludlow could 
know all about it, but she was glad enough to 
slip out of her wet clothes and to have Hannah 
Jane rub her feet and help her into a fresh 
dress. 

“ But I haven't any other shoes,” she ex- 
claimed, as she sat on the little footstool. “ And 
I have lost my hat.” 

“ Dinna cry about it,” said Hannah Jane 
sharply. “There's many a poor child without 
a pair of shoes ora hat to its feet. I'll step over 
to Mistress Chaplin’s and borrow a pair of slip- 
pers, and to-morrow your grandmother will be 
buying you what you need,” and Hannah Jane 
stalked out of the room carrying the wet shoes 
and the dripping clothing. 

As Ellie sat there in the pleasant chamber 


86 


A LITTLE MAID 


waiting for Hannah Jane’s return she repeated 
over to herself, “ There’s many a poor child 
without a pair of shoes or a hat to its feet,” at 
first with a little giggle of amusement at 
Hannah Jane’s manner of speech, and then with 
a wonder if there really were little girls who 
went without shoes and hats. She resolved to 
ask Hannah Jane if she knew any such little 
girls. 

“ Here’s some fine slippers,” said Hannah Jane. 
“ They belong to Miss Bertha, but you are to 
wear them and welcome.” 

“ Are there little girls who never have shoes 
and hats ? ” Ellie asked soberly, as she followed 
the tall Scotchwoman from the room. 

“ To be sure there are such children,” Hannah 
Jane answered, “ and it becomes a young lady to 
think of them, and not of her own lacks.” 

Ellie was eager to explain that she had never 
known there were such children ; but at that 
moment her grandmother appeared at the foot 
of the stairs, and in answering her questions 
about the accident Ellie forgot about the chil- 
dren of whom Hannah Jane had told her. 

“We must go shopping early on Monday 
morning,” said Mrs. Hinman smilingly, as if it 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 87 

was a pleasant task she was considering. “ You 
have your fine blue silk hat, of which you told 
me, to wear to church to-morrow ; so we will not 
worry about the lost hat and spoiled shoes. And 
now you had best lie down on the sofa until 
supper time and rest.” 

Ellie was quite ready to do this. The big 
sofa which stood near the western windows of 
the cool sitting-room was a very pleasant place 
to rest, and with Grandma Hinman sitting near 
by at one of the open windows Ellie was well 
content to curl up with her head on one of the 
big soft cushions. But as she looked toward her 
grandmother she realized that Mrs. Hinman was 
looking out toward the Square, and there was 
the sound of marching feet passing the house. 

In an instant Ellie had sprung from the sofa 
and run across the room. 

“ What is it, grandma?” she asked eagerly, 
looking out at a line of soldiers going by to the 
music of fife and drum. 

“It must be that General Washington has 
need of more men in New York ; and Con- 
necticut men are ready whenever the call comes 
to defend their country,” replied Mrs. Hinman. 

“ Will the enemy come to Hartford ? ” Ellie 


88 


A LITTLE MAID 


asked, as the music grew fainter, and the sol- 
diers vanished from sight. 

Grandma shook her head. “ Who can tell ? ” 
she answered. “ So far we have had no fear. 
But there are rumors of spies ; and where spies 
appear there is always trouble at hand.” 

“ Oh-h ! ” exclaimed Ellie, in so sorrowful and 
frightened a voice that Grandmother Hinman 
looked at her in surprise, and put her arm about 
the little girl. 

1 Do not be frightened, dear child. We know 
there is no spy near us,” she said. 

“ What would you do if you found a spy, 
grandma?” Ellie asked so earnestly that Mrs. 
Hinman smiled. 

“ Why, it would depend on circumstances, my 
dear. If a spy got into my house by deceiving 
me I should hand him over to the authorities 
very quickly. It is the first duty of Americans 
to see that spies are punished,” she replied. 

“ Would it be like a spy to pretend he was 
sick and had deserted from the British army ? ” 
questioned Ellie. 

“ is very likely that a spy might do ex- 
actly that. But we will not welcome any de- 
serter, dear, so do not look so troubled,” said 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 89 

grandma. But Ellie was very quiet and sober 
during supper, and was glad when the time 
came for her to go up-stairs to bed. 

She opened the closet door and peered in at 
the big bandbox. 

“ Oh, dear,” she whispered, “ I wish I could 
go right home and let father open that package ; 
then he would know just what to do. Perhaps 
I ought to tell grandma about it. Perhaps I 
ought not to keep a promise to a spy.” But 
then she remembered that her mother and 
father had seemed to trust Barlay, and perhaps, 
after all, he might not be as wicked as she 
thought. But the secret packet troubled her, 
and she dreaded the time when she must take 
out her silk hat and see Barlay’s package in the 
bandbox. 

Ellie slept late the next morning and awoke 
to find her grandmother standing beside the 
bed smiling down at her. 

“ Tis the Sabbath day, dear child, and we 
will go to church directly after breakfast. You 
shall wear your pretty flecked silk, and your 
fine hat. And the little Chaplin girls will take 
you to Sunday-school,” said grandma. 

Ellie smiled happily. To have four little 


9° A LITTLE MAID 

girls waiting to walk to church with her made 
her quite forget every troublesome and unhappy 
thought, and she was soon ready for breakfast. 

“Now run up and put on the pretty hat,” 
said grandmother, as they left the dining-room. 

At the mention of the hat, Ellie’s face grew 
sober. She dreaded to even touch Barlay’s 
packet. But she ran up-stairs, lifted the band- 
box from its shelf in the closet, untied the tape 
and lifted the cover. She could not help admir- 
ing her pretty hat as she took it from the box. 
I hen she quickly put on the cover, and hurried 
down the stairs where grandma was waiting. 

It is indeed a pretty hat, and does great 
credit to your dear mother,” said grandma, 
and now think no more of fine raiment, but 
walk soberly.” 

The little Chaplin girls with their mother 
and father and Mrs. Ludlow walked along with 
Mis. Hinman and Ellie. The little girls smiled 
at each other, but there was no conversation 
until after church, and then only a few words 
of greeting. But Ellie was very happy to know 
that her new friends were so near to her, and 
that she and Bertha would walk home together. 
Now and then she thought of the package, but 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 


9i 

she had resolved not to be afraid of it. So long 
as it remained safely in the bandbox it could do 
no harm. 

On returning from church Ellie ran happily 
up-stairs to put her hat back in the box. She 
took it off carefully, and put it on a chair, then 
she opened the box, and for a moment stood 
staring into it. The box was empty. There 
was no letter, no package. Nothing. Barlay’s 
message had disappeared. 


CHAPTER IX 


A DAY OF TROUBLE 

Ellie stood looking into the empty box as if 
she could hardly believe her own eyes. Her 
first feeling was one of delight that the packet 
had vanished. But then came a sudden fear. 
If Barlay really was a spy perhaps the lost mes- 
sage had already reached the person to whom it 
was addressed, and how could she know that it 
had not contained directions to destroy her own 
home, to take her father a prisoner? 

Quite forgetting her blue hat Ellie sat down 
in the chair facing the open closet and began to 
cry. But she sprang up suddenly. She had sat 
down on her hat. There it lay crushed out of 
shape. She picked it up and began to push it 
carefully here and there, but still it did not look 
right, and she decided to tell her grandmother 
that she had sat down on it, and on the follow- 
ing morning ask her to fix it. The hat seemed 
of very little importance just then. 

Ellie went to the window and looked out over 
92 



SHE TIP-TOED DOWN THE STAIRS 































































OF OLD CONNECTICUT 93 

the beautiful garden. Grandma was taking a 
little rest in her own room, and Hannah Jane 
and Peter had not yet returned from church. 
Everything seemed very quiet and peaceful as 
she tiptoed down the stairs and through the 
empty house to the garden. She wandered about 
looking at the flowers, and thinking of the “ Five 
Roses,” and of the lost package, and soon found 
herself at the entrance to the vegetable garden, 
and walked on toward the far end, where the 
big red strawberries grew. 

There was something queer about the straw- 
berry bed to-day, thought Ellie. What was that 
queer looking brown object at the further side 
of the bed ? She stood quite still watching it. 
“ IPs a girl ! A little girl ! And she is eating 
grandmother’s strawberries,” she whispered to 
herself, and at that moment the little trespasser 
turned about and saw Ellie looking at her. For 
a moment the two children eyed each other. 
The strange child was bareheaded. Her hair 
was a dull brown, and hardly darker than her 
swarthy skin, her eyes were brown, and the lit- 
tle claw-like hands were brown. She stood up 
quickly, and Ellie noticed that the straight 
shapeless dress was brown. The child was so 


94 A LITTLE MAID 

small that El lie thought she could not be more 
than five or six years old. She was bareheaded 
and barefooted. 

As Ellie looked at her both the little brown 
hands covered the brown face and the child be- 
gan to cry. 

“ Don’t cry,” Ellie exclaimed, realizing that 
this must be one of the children that Hannah 
Jane had said it would “ become ” her to think of. 
“ Come over here and tell me who you are.” 

ihe child peered at her through her fingers. 

“ What you going to do to me ? ” she asked in 
a shrill little voice. “ Be you going to tell your 
folks you caught me stealing?” 

Ellie shook her head. “ No, I won't tell. 
I’m sure my grandma would wish you to have 
the berries if you are hungry.” 

Hungry ! Well, I never had enough to eat. 
I'm always hungry, and so’s Joe. See!” and 
she held up a queer little basket made of leaves 
and sticks, and nearly filled with fine berries. 

“ I was picking these for Joe.” 

Ellie nodded approvingly. She did not know 
that Grandma Hinman set great store by her 
fine ben ies, and that on Monday she meant to 
send a fine basketful as a gift to the wife of her 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 95 

pastor. The strawberries grew wild in the fields 
all about Ellie’s home, and she saw no harm in 
this brown little girl taking home all the berries 
she could pick to “ Joe,” whoever he might be. 

“ Who is Joe ? ” she asked. 

“ He’s my brother. He’s younger than me,” 
explained the child. u We lives in Brown Lane 
down near the river. Me father’s lame.” 

help you pick,” declared Ellie, forgetting 
her fine silk dress, and thinking only of this thin 
frightened child who stared at her in amazement. 

“ I never stealed anything before,” whimpered 
the little girl, “ an’ I hated to sneak into this 
pretty place, but father’s gone off an’ Joe and I 
was hungry.” 

“ Where’s your mother?” asked Ellie. 

The little girl shook her head. “ Guess we 
never had a mother. Leastways I don’t recall 
her,” she answered. 

For a moment or two the little girls were 
silent, each selecting the finest of the berries for 
“ Joe’s ” basket. 

“ There! It’s full. I guess I ain’t stole 
nothin’, so long a3 you’ve helped me,” said the 
girl. 

“ Of course you haven’t ! ” Ellie assured her 


A LITTLE MAID 


96 

eagerly. “ And if you'll come up to-morrow I'll 
bring you out some things to eat. What’s your 
name? ” 

Before the child could answer Ellie heard 
Hannah Jane calling, and turned to answer. 
When she again looked for the little brown fig- 
ure it had vanished. Ellie looked about the 
garden with anxious eyes. 

“ And what may you be doing in your grand- 
ma’s strawberry bed on the Sabbath day, Miss 
Ellen ? ” and Ellie turned to find Hannah Jane 
close beside her, looking very stern and disap- 
proving. 

“ Did ye not know that your grandma lets no 
person save Peter an’ meself set foot in that 
bed ? ” she continued. “ A rare mess you’ve 
made of it ! ” and Hannah Jane looked where 
the girls had ruthlessly pulled the strawberries 
from the sheltering leaves. 

“ An’ if ye’re not sick from it ’twill be little 
less than a miracle. A full quart of fine berries 
ye must have eaten I An’ on the Sabbath day ! 
Weel ! Weel ! ” and Hannah Jane looked at 
Ellie accusingly. 

“ Can ye no speak and say how sorry ye 
feel? ” she questioned reprovingly. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 97 

Ellie made no answer. She turned sharply 
'round and walked toward the house, angry and 
ashamed, but not at all sorry. Hannah Jane 
might say what she pleased, but Ellie resolved 
that she would not put the blame on the poor 
half-starved child whom she had discovered in the 
garden. No hats and no shoes ! Well, Hannah 
Jane could talk finely about hats and shoes; 
but what about hungry children? thought Ellie 
as she marched into the house and up to her 
own chamber. 

“ I wish I was home," she whispered to her- 
self. “ Hannah Jane will tell grandma that I 
ate a quart of strawberries, and she will think 
me greedy. And I do wonder what became of 
the packet." Then her thoughts went back to 
the hungry little girl who had disappeared so 
suddenly, and Ellie realized that she could not 
ask her grandmother for food to give to the 
child. “ I'll save it. I won't eat so much for 
my supper and breakfast," she resolved, looking 
at the deep pocket in her dress and thinking 
how easy it would be to slip in a piece of bread 
or cake. 

When Ellie went down to supper it was with 
a troubled heart as to what grandma might say 


98 A LITTLE MAID 

about the strawberries. But she soon realized 
that Hannah Jane had said nothing about it. 
And Ellie wished she could let Hannah Jane 
know how grateful she was; but there was no 
opportunity. There was hot corn cake for sup- 
per, and Ellie liberally buttered a square and 
slid it into her pocket without grandma’s ob- 
serving it. A slice of gingerbread soon fol- 
lowed, and when Ellie left the supper table her 
pocket contained enough food to furnish her 
new friend with a good meal. 

But if grandma had not noticed Ellie hiding 
the food Hannah Jane’s eyes had been more 
alert. As she brought in the tea she had seen 
Ellie put a piece of cake in her pocket; and 
when the little girl followed her grandmother 
from the room Hannah Jane stood looking after 
them as if too amazed to speak, as indeed she 
was. Her good impression of Ellie had com- 
pletely vanished. 

“ To eat a full quart of strawberries and make 
a good supper, and then to be sliding food into 
her pocket,” thought Hannah Jane. “ Weel, 
weel ! I’ll not be surprised to see the doctor 
in this house before sunrise. But I’ll not be 
worrying the mistress with tales. She’ll soon 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 99 

find out by herself,” and Hannah Jane went 
about her duties with a troubled mind. 

It was a very uneasy and uncomfortable even- 
ing for Ellie. She sat beside her grandmother 
on the sofa in the big front room, and tried to 
listen attentively to what Mrs. Hinman was say- 
ing. But, looking down to make sure that the 
contents of her pocket was quite safe, she saw a 
large spot on the pretty silk. The spot seemed 
to spread and grow as she looked at it. It was 
all she could do to sit quietly and not pull out 
the buttered bread and gingerbread which were 
spoiling her dress. And she was glad indeed 
when grandma said it was bedtime. 

She went up-stairs very slowly wondering 
where she should hide the food, and almost 
ready to cry when she thought of the ugly stain 
on her new dress. 

“ I’ve only been here three days, and all my 
things are spoiled,” she thought bitterly, re- 
membering that one hat was lost, the other 
crushed out of shape ; that her shoes had been 
ruined by the water, and now here was the 
pretty flecked silk stained. It seemed to Ellie 
that there was nothing pleasant to think about. 
She looked about the shadowy chamber, and 


IOO 


A LITTLE MAID 


decided to put the food in the lower drawer 
of the tall chest which stood between the two 
windows. She pulled the drawer open a little 
way and laid the crushed corn cake and ginger- 
bread in very carefully. In the morning she 
would get a piece of paper and wrap them up 
with what she could save from her breakfast. 
Ellie was rather hungry, for she had eaten only 
a little cold custard at supper. 

Her own troubles and the little brown girl in 
the strawberry bed had made her almost forget 
her father's namesake and the loss of his packet. 
But she was too sleepy to think out any way of 
helping “ Brownie," as she called the queer little 
child, and the lost message seemed beyond help. 


CHAPTER X 


BRAVE DEEDS 

Ellie was up in good season the next morn- 
ing, and came down to breakfast looking very 
neat in her pretty gingham dress with its wide 
white collar. 

“ I sat down on my hat, grandma, and it is 
all bent I ” she announced, as she came into the 
dining-room. But grandma did not seem to 
think that a very alarming thing. She laughed 
and said that no doubt she could easily fix it. 
But Ellie saw Hannah Jane shake her head 
mournfully, as if all sorts of trouble was to be 
expected ; and she looked at Ellie so sharply 
that the little girl could feel her cheeks flush. 

“ Are ye well this morning, Miss Ellen ? ” she 
asked, as if surprised to see Ellie down-stairs. 

Ellie was more careful this morning. She 
managed to wrap a couple of pieces of bread in 
her handkerchief, and when she ran up-stairs 
to put on her hat she pulled open the drawer 
and drew out the other things, and then looked 
101 


102 


A LITTLE MAID 


about for something to wrap them in. There 
was a fine piece of tissue paper in her bandbox, 
and she hurriedly pulled it out and wrapped it 
about the food just as her grandmother came 
into the room. 

“ Now let me see the hat,” she said. “ I can 
soon remedy that, my dear,” and with a few 
careful touches the silk hat seemed quite as 
good as ever. 

“ I will put on my own bonnet, and then we 
will start,” said Mrs. Hinman, wondering why 
El lie stood so close to the wall with both hands 
behind her. 

As soon as Mrs. Hinman left the room Ellie 
ran down the stairs, through the dining-room 
into the garden. She was sure that “ Brownie ” 
would be lurking somewhere about, and she 
ran through the flower garden straight toward 
the strawberry bed, and stood there a moment 
looking at the high brick wall and wondering 
how any one could ever get over it. Then sud- 
denly she heard a little chuckle and looked 
down to see a small brown figure close to the 
wall. 

“ Oh, Brownie! Here is all I could get,” said 
Ellie, holding out the package. “ And run 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 103 

home just as fast as you can. Don't come in 
the garden again. I'll come to your house to- 
morrow." 

The child grasped the package eagerly. 

“Will you come to-night?" she asked. “I 
live in Brown Lane. 'Tain't far off. It's the 
last house." 

“ Yes, I will come. Truly I will," answered 
Ellie. “Now run," and Ellie herself turned 
back toward the house to meet Hannah Jane 
half-way across the flower garden. 

“ Ye've not been eating more strawberries, 
Miss Ellie? " she questioned. 

Ellie did not answer. She walked straight 
on to the hall, where her grandmother was 
waiting, and in a few moments they were walk- 
ing across the Square toward Broad Street, and 
grandma was talking of the shoes they would 
purchase, and asking Ellie if she would not like 
a white hat with a wide ribbon of blue silk. 

“ I think, too, that it will be a good plan for 
you to have a dress of India muslin," said 
Mrs. Hinman as they came to the store of 
Captain Thomas Hopkins, who sold fine India 
goods. 

It seemed very wonderful to Ellie, who had 


A LITTLE MAID 


104 

never before been in a shop of any kind, to 
see shelves filled with cambrics, silks and mus- 
lins, and cases of all sorts of things whose names 
or uses she could not imagine. Mrs. Hinman 
selected a pretty pale blue India muslin, and 
then purchased a sash of blue silk to match. 

At a milliner's store near by she found just 
the hat Ellie wanted, and then they visited 
the shoemaker's, where Ellie was fitted to a 
pair of low shoes with shining buckles and a 
pair of fine kid slippers. 

With so many things to think about it was 
no wonder that Ellie forgot all her troubles 
and was as smiling and happy as ever when she 
started for home carrying her new shoes and 
hat, while Mrs. Hinman carried the roll of 
muslin for the new dress. 

“ I can make the dress myself, grandma, if 
you will cut and baste it for me," she said. 

“ Yes, indeed, dear child. It will be pretty 
work for you, and with my help 'twill be easily 
finished," replied Mrs. Hinman. 

u Oh • There are Bertha and Mildred," ex- 
claimed Ellie, as they came in sight of the 
house, and saw the two little Chaplin girls on 
the porch. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 105 

44 I asked them to spend the day with you,” 
said Mrs. Hinman. 44 You may play in the 
garden, or you may take them up to your room. 
It will soon be time for dinner.” 

Ellie was eager to show her friends the pur- 
chases her grandmother had made, and both 
Bertha and Mildred seemed as pleased as Ellie 
herself. But as Ellie held up the silk sash 
for their admiration her own smile disappeared. 

14 Oh, girls ! ” she exclaimed, 44 1 know a girl 
who doesn’t have any clothes, and who never 
had enough to eat.” 

The three little friends were in Ellie’s room, 
and Bertha and Mildred looked at her in sur- 
prise as she hurriedly told them the story of 
the little brown girl whom she had discovered 
in the strawberry bed. 

44 Well, Ellie! There’s a 4 true deed,’ I’m 
sure,” declared Mildred as she finished. 44 You 
let Hannah Jane blame you and never said a 
word.” 

44 1 promised to go to her house to-night, but 
if I do you girls will have to help me,” said 
Ellie. 

Bertha nodded gravely. 44 Don’t you see that 
it is our vow to help each other in all brave and 


106 A LITTLE MAID 

true deeds ? ” she said. “ Of course we will 
help you, and we’ll take her some of Nancy’s 
clothes. I think it’s fine for you not to eat all 
you want, Ellie, but to save it for the little girl. 
We will do that too. But we must keep it a 
secret. ” 

“ Yes, indeed,” answered Ellie. 

“Of course we can’t save any of our dinner 
to-day, because we are company,” said Mildred, 
and the others agreed to this very promptly. 

“ What is her name?” asked Bertha. 

“ I didn’t have time to ask her. But she was 
so brown — hair, eyes, skin and dress — that I 
called her 1 Brownie,’ and she lives in Brown 
Lane,” answered Ellie. 

“I know where that is,” said Bertha. “It 
leads down to Little River.” 

Hannah Jane kept a sharp eye on Ellie all 
through dinner, and was greatly relieved to find 
that Ellie made no effort to carry off food from 
the table. Hannah Jane declared to herself 
that it was more than she could understand why 
a young lady who was welcome to the best in the 
house should slip corn-bread into her pocket. 

After dinner the girls went out to the arbor 
and made their plans for the visit to Brown 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 107 

Lane. Bertha said that Lucy and Nancy must 
be told. “ Because they are members of the 
‘ Rose ’ Society, and because Nancy’s dresses 
will probably fit the little girl,” she explained. 

“ They are coming over this afternoon — your 
grandma invited them — and we’ll tell them ail 
about ‘ Brownie,’ ” added Mildred. “ Why don’t 
we adopt her ? ” 

Ellie and Bertha both agreed that it would be 
the right thing to do. 

Nancy and Lucy soon arrived, and were 
greatly excited over Ellie’s story of the strange 
child, and Nancy generously offered to give her 
any dress that Bertha might decide on. 

“ But what shall I tell mother?” she asked, a 
little doubtfully. 

“ Oh, we must pick out some things of yours 
that you have outgrown,” said Bertha, “and 
we must do it right away after supper; for Ellie 
and I are going down to see where this girl lives 
and carry her something to eat.” 

“ How are you going without any one finding 
it out ? ” persisted Nancy. 

“ Well, after supper I will ask mother if I 
may run over to see Ellie just a minute, and I 
know she will let me,” answered Bertha, “ and 


io8 


A LITTLE MAID 


I shall wait just beyond the house for Ellie, who 
will ask her grandma if she may run over to see 
us, and we will meet and hurry straight off to 
Brown Lane and get back before any one misses 
us. Mildred will hide the things we mean to 
carry near our gate,” concluded Bertha. 

It all sounded very easy to the girls, and Lucy 
said that she had two shillings, which were a 
present from Grandma Ludlow, that she would 
give to the adopted child of the “ Five Roses.” 
Mildred offered handkerchiefs, and Bertha was 
sure that she could get a hat from the attic which 
no one would ever miss. But Ellie had nothing. 

“ Grandma knows everything I have,” she 
said, “ and I haven't any money.” 

“Never mind. Take her one of Hannah 
Jane's fine cakes,” suggested Mildred. “ You 
can ask Hannah Jane for it as if you wanted 
to share it with us.” 

“ She will think me very greedy,” said Ellie, 
“ for she thinks that I ate a quart of ripe 
strawberries before supper last night.” 

“ Never mind that,” said Bertha. “Of course 
it will take courage to ask her, but 'twill be 
another brave deed,” so Ellie agreed to ask ; 
but she was sure it would take all her courage. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 109 

“We had better go home now and get all the 
things we can and hide them before supper 
time,” said Mildred ; so the sisters bade Ellie 
good-bye, and Bertha promised to wait for her 
after supper beyond the Chaplin house gate, 

Ellie walked very slowly back to the house. 
She knew that she must go to the kitchen and 
ask Hannah Jane for the cake. She said to 
herself that it was Hannah Jane who had first 
told her to think about poor children, but she 
dreaded the scornful look which she had seen 
in Hannah Jane's eyes only yesterday when 
they had met in the garden. 

The kitchen was in an ell beyond the main 
house and there was a little porch over the door 
covered with honeysuckle vines. A neat little 
brick laid path led to the kitchen door, and 
Ellie followed it wondering just what she should 
say. 

As she reached the porch she heard Hannah 
Jane singing : 

“Hark ye all to Freedom’s call 
And bravely, bravely sing 19 

But Elbe's step on the porch brought Hannah 
Jane to the door. 


no 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ You were singing, weren't you ? ” said Ellie, 
trying to smile as if she and Hannah Jane were 
the best of friends. 

“ Maybe so, miss; but not neglecting my 
rightful duties. I can sing and work at the 
same time,” replied Hannah Jane. “ Were you 
wishing anything, Miss Ellen Elizabeth?” 

It seemed to Ellie that it was indeed brave to 
venture to ask a favor from Hannah Jane. Her 
mouth felt very dry, and she swallowed and 
hesitated, and at last said : 

‘‘Yes ; if you please, Hannah Jane, would you 
kindly give me a whole cake? I told Bertha ” 

She stopped suddenly and looked up, for 
Hannah Jane had made such a queer noise. 

“ So 'tis a cake ye're wantin' ? Weel, heaven 
grant your grandmither little knows of the 
cormorant in her house,” replied Hannah Jane. 
“ I’ll give ye the cake ; but mind ye share it 
with your friends,” and Hannah Jane looked 
sternly down at the frightened little girl. 

“ Oh, yes, indeed I will, Hannah Jane. I 
won't eat a speck of it myself,” Ellie declared 
so earnestly that Hannah Jane groaned again, 
for she was quite sure that Ellie would eat the 
greater part of the cake herself. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT hi 

“ I'll pat a paper over it,” she said, and dis- 
appeared into the pantry returning in a moment 
with a neat package which she handed to the 
little girl. 

“ Don’t be askin’ of me again, Miss Ellen 
Elizabeth,” she said sternly, and Ellie thanked 
her meekly and hurried down the brick walk 
and around the corner of the house to the open 
door of the dining-room. She carried the cake 
to her room, and then went in search of her 
grandmother, who was in the pleasant sitting- 
room. 

“ You must begin your letter to your mother 
to-morrow,” said Mrs. Hinman. “ You will 
have a great deal to tell her.” 

u Yes, indeed,” said Ellie, wishing it were 
possible to write to her mother about the packet 
David Barlow had given her. 

“ There is great news to-day, my dear child,” 
continued Mrs. Hinman. “ Two Tory spies 
have been captured and brought to Hartford. 
And they say that one of them is only a boy.” 

“ Did Stevie bring him?” Ellie asked, in so 
eager a voice that her grandmother looked up in 
surprise. 

“ Why, no, dear child. The spies were cap- 


I 12 


A LITTLE MAID 


tured in a boat in which they were making their 
way along the shore. I suppose Stephen wants 
to help America’s cause by securing an enemy 
spy, does he not?" she answered, and Ellie 
nodded, half frightened to think how nearly she 
had disobeyed her father’s instructions not to 
speak of the deserter to any one. 

“ May I go over to see Bertha for a little while 
after supper?" she asked, feeling her face flush 
uncomfortably because she was not being quite 
truthful to her kind grandmother who had 
given her so many pretty things that very day. 

Mrs. Hinman gave her consent, and Ellie 
started off as soon after supper as she could 
escape Hannah Jane’s watchful eyes, carrying 
the cake very carefully. 


CHAPTER XI 


THE MYSTERIOUS PACKAGE 

Bertha was waiting, standing in the shadow 
of one of the big elm trees. In one hand she 
carried a wide-rimmed hat trimmed with white 
ribbon, while a good-sized basket rested on the 
ground beside her. 

“ I have a lot of things,” she whispered, as 
soon as Ellie came near. “ Put your cake in the 
basket and help me carry it.” Ellie promptly 
obeyed, and the two little girls hurried down 
the shadowy street, and in a short time had 
reached Brown Lane, which proved to be only a 
rough path toward Little River. They had just 
turned into the lane when a little figure came 
running to meet them. 

“I was just watching for you,” she declared, 
hopping about first on one foot and then on the 
other. 

“ This is my house,” she continued, pointing 
to a low shed-like building. “ An' Joe's waitin'. 

113 


1 1 4 A LITTLE MAID 

I told him you'd come, but he didn't be- 
lieve it." 

“ We must hurry back just as fast as we can," 
said Bertha. “ Here is a hat for you, and there 
are a dress and some shoes in the basket." 

“ And a cake," Ellie added eagerly. 

“ Oh, yes ; there’s part of a chicken, too, and 
some cookies," said Bertha, “ and here are two 
shillings my sister sent you." 

By this time they had reached the door 
of the child’s home, and Bertha set down the 
basket, handed her first the hat and then the 
money. 

“ What is your name? " Bertha asked. 

“ It's May," replied the child, in a husky 
voice. “ What's yours ? " 

“ Rose. That is, you may call us both Rose," 
replied Bertha. “ We must not stay a minute. 
We’ll come again," and taking Elbe's hand she 
turned back. But in an instant “ Brownie " 
was beside Ellie, whispering in her ear : 

“ Thank you, thank you, thank you. Come 
to-morrow," and before Ellie could answer she 
was gone. 

“ I do hope they haven’t missed us," Bertha 
said anxiously, as the two little girls hurried 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 115 

along the rough lane. “ I have been thinking 
about Fort Danger; that will be a good place to 
meet May, and to leave things for her. We 
must tell her about it to-morrow.” 

They ran nearly all the way home, and it was 
a very flushed and tired little girl who went 
slowly up the steps to Mrs. Hinman's porch. 

“I was just about going over to come home 
with you,” said Grandma Hinman. “ Why, dear 
child, you should not have run home. You 
were not frightened, I trust.” 

“ Oh, no,” Ellie panted, “I — I just wanted 
to run.” 

“ Well, to-morrow we will begin on the new 
dress. But what do you think? Hannah Jane 
tells me that some one has picked the very best 
of my strawberries ! ” 

Ellie did not speak. She wondered why Han- 
nah Jane had not told her grandmother of find- 
ing her in the strawberry bed. She wished that 
she could tell grandma all the story ; but she 
must not do that unless little brown “ May ” 
and the “ Roses ” would give their consent. 
Ellie began to feel as if too many things were 
happening. 

The next morning Ellie began a letter to her 


1 16 A LITTLE MAID 

mother, telling her of her safe and pleasant 
journey in the coach, of making the acquaint- 
ance of Mrs. Ludlow, and of her new playmates, 
the little Chaplin girls. She sent messages to 
her father and brothers. Then she thought 
of Barlay. Suppose, after all, that the errand 
he had trusted her to do was a harmless one ? 
Perhaps the little package might have contained 
money to purchase something that he might 
need, and which he would expect to receive by 
the coach which carried her letter. 

Ellie was sitting at her grandmother’s desk 
in the front room, and with Grandmother Hin- 
man’s new quill pen in her hand ; but all her 
pleasure in her neatly written letter to her dear 
mother was at an end. 

“ I must find it,” she declared, jumping up 
from the desk and running up-stairs to her 
room. Hannah Jane was just coming out from 
the chamber. 

“ I have been sweeping your room. Have ye 
missed a small package, Miss Ellen Elizabeth?” 
she asked, looking so sternly at the little girl 
that Ellie wondered how any one could really 
like Hannah Jane ; but at the question Ellie’s 
face brightened. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 117 

“ Oh, yes, Hannah Jane, and I looked every- 
where for it,” she answered. 

“Did ye? Weel, 'twas lying on the closet 
floor beside your bandbox. An’ I have 
placed it on the light-stand,” replied Hannah 
Jane. 

Ellie ran past her into the room, and there 
lay the lost package on the stand. She took it 
up and looked at it carefully. There were a 
few words written on the wrapper, and Ellie 
read these aloud : 

41 4 Miss Ellen Elizabeth Barlow,, Please open 
as soon as you reach Hartford/ 

44 Oh ! ” exclaimed the little girl, now quite 
sure that Barlay’s errand was an innocent one, 
“ and I have been here nearly a week,” she 
thought. But whatever the message might be 
she did not want to open the package before 
Hannah Jane, who had now returned to the 
room. 

44 I'll be dusting as soon as ye're pleased to 
step down-stairs, Miss Ellen Elizabeth,” said 
Hannah Jane. 

Ellie moved quickly toward the door, thrust- 
ing the newly-found package into her pocket. 
Whenever Hannah Jane said 44 Miss Ellen Eliza- 


1 1 8 A LITTLE MAID 

betli ” Ellie felt as if it were a reproach to her 
for some unacknowledged fault. 

Ellie ran down-stairs and out to the arbor. 
She looked carefully about, but there was no 
one to be seen, so she sat down on the bench 
and untied the string which held the package. 
After taking off the stout paper in which it was 
wrapped Ellie found there were two other pack- 
ages. One was a neatly folded letter, the other 
a thick little package, and on this was written 
her name, and : “ Please buy something you 
want with this.” Ellie opened it quickly, and 
there lay a golden sovereign. She looked at it 
in amazement. It seemed untold riches to the 
little girl, who had never before had more than 
a silver sixpence of her very own. She was 
sure that it would purchase everything that a 
little girl could possibly want. Holding it tight 
in one hand she now looked down at the address 
on the letter, and read aloud : “ To His Excel- 
lency Governor Jonathan Trumbull.” Then 
further down was written : “ Important. De- 
liver as soon as possible.” 

Ellie put the letter and its wrappings and her 
gold piece into her pocket. “ 1 As soon as pos- 
sible/ ” she repeated. Why, that meant now* 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 119 

At once. No spy would send a letter to the 
loyal governor of Connecticut. Young as she 
was Ellie understood that at once. And it was 
marked “ Important/' Ellie began to feel that 
it was really a wonderful thing to be trusted to 
deliver a message to Governor Jonathan Trum- 
bull. As she sat thinking how she could fulfil 
this trust Peter passed the arbor on his way to 
the vegetable garden. 

“ Peter," called Ellie, running after him, “ will 
you please tell me where Governor Trumbull 
lives ? " 

“ To be sure, Miss Ellen. He lives in the fine 
town of Lebanon. That's where he has his 
store, and his War Office; and 'tis from there 
he sends out the wagon-trains of provisions for 
American soldiers," replied Peter, evidently 
greatly pleased to be able to answer Elbe’s 
question. 

“ Oh ! Then I can't see him," responded Ellie 
in so mournful a tone that Peter realized the 
little girl was greatly disappointed, and he 
smiled and nodded reassuringly. 

“To be sure you can see him," he declared. 
“ He is in Hartford this very week to attend the 
General Assembly." 


120 A LITTLE MAID 

44 1 wish I could see him,” Ellie exclaimed 
earnestly. 

That Ellie should wish to see Governor Trum- 
bull seemed a very right and proper thing to 
Peter. Did not General Washington declare 
that Connecticut’s governor was 44 among the 
first of patriots ” ? He looked at Ellie approv- 
ingly. 

44 If you should ask your Grandmother Hinman 
I’ve no doubt she would take you down to see 
Governor Trumbull enter Assembly Hall. He 
will be going in at one o’clock this day,” said 
Peter, nodding pleasantly, as he started on to his 
work. 

44 4 At one o’clock this day,’ ” Ellie repeated. 
Dinner would be over long before that, and she 
resolved to slip away by herself and find out by 
asking some one on the street the way to Assem- 
bly Hall ; then she would watch for the gov- 
ernor and give him Barlay’s message. 44 Proba- 
bly it’s to say that he is sorry he fought against 
Connecticut, and to ask the governor if he may 
stay with my father,” thought the little girl hope- 
fully. The discovery of the mysterious packet, 
and finding out that it held no harmful mes- 
sage, made Ellie very happy indeed. She was 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 121 


sure that it would be very easy to hand a letter 
to Governor Trumbull ; and the golden sov- 
ereign, she had already decided, should be used 
to buy a fine present for her mother. She turned 
back to the house feeling that now she would 
enjoy every minute of her visit, and for the time 
quite forgetting the little brown girl whom she 
had promised to visit. 

Hannah Jane stood just inside the dining- 
room door. 

“ Your grandmother wishes you to step up- 
stairs to her chamber, Miss Ellen Elizabeth, 1 ” she 
said grimly. 

“ Yes, Hannah Jane,” Ellie responded smil- 
ingly, so that Hannah Jane's face softened a lit- 
tle as she turned to look after her. 

The blue India muslin was spread out on Mrs. 
Hinman’s bed. 

“ I am going to cut off the breadths for your 
skirt, my dear,” said grandma. “ Why, you look 
as if you had heard some good news,” she added 
smilingly. 

While Mrs. Hinman cut off the lengths of soft 
muslin Ellie looked about the big chamber. 
There was a portrait of Grandfather Hinman 
hanging over the mantel, and in the corner of 


122 


A LITTLE MAID 


the room was a wooden cradle. Ellie looked at 
it wonderingly. 

“ Your dear mother slept in that cradle when 
she was a baby,” said grandma, who had noticed 
Elbe's questioning look. “ And now, my dear, 
I will baste up the seams, and after dinner you 
can begin work on your new dress.” 

“ I wish I could see Governor Trumbull,” 
Ellie said, in so sober a tone that her grand- 
mother looked up quickly. 

“ Of course it would be something to tell your 
brothers of when you go home,” grandma re- 
plied, “ and I doubt not the governor would be 
glad to see you, my child, for your grandfather 
was his good friend when they were both young. 
And there is the bell for our dinner,” she con- 
cluded, as the silvery tinkle sounded from the 
lower hall, and Ellie followed her grandmother 
down to the dining-room. She was very quiet 
during the meal, and as soon as it was over slipped 
away up-stairs. 

“ I shall have to leave you alone with your 
work for an hour, my dear,” said Mrs. Hinman, 
as they left the dining-room. “ I want to assist 
Hannah Jane in the kitchen.” 

It seemed to Ellie that nothing could be more 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 123 

fortunate for her plan. She ran up-stairs, put 
on the new hat with its ribbon of blue silk, and 
in a few moments she had reached the square 
and was hurrying toward Broad Street, feeling 
sure that she would soon meet some one who 
would direct her to Assembly Hall. 


CHAPTER XII 


ELLIE AND GOVERNOR TRUMBULL 

Ellie had just turned on to Broad Street 
when she saw a little girl coming toward her. 
The little girl wore a white straw hat trimmed 
with white ribbon, and a dress of figured mus- 
lin. There was something familiar to Ellie 
about this little girl, but not until they were face 
to face did she realize that it was May. 

'‘Oh! Were you coming to see me?” ex- 
claimed May. “ See ! Isn’t my hat fine ? And 
my dress?” she continued, without waiting for 
Ellie to answer her first question. “ I never had 
a hat before in all my life,” she concluded, 
touching the brim of the white straw as if it was 
something very precious. 

“ No, I wasn’t going to see you, May. I am 
going to see Governor Trumbull,” replied Ellie. 

“ You will have to hurry, then, for I have just 
seen him on his way to Assembly Hall. Come, 
I’ll show you,” replied May, taking hold of 
Ellie’s hand, and turning back. “ We shall have 
124 



THIS IS A MESSAGE FOR YOU 





OF OLD CONNECTICUT 125 

to run,” she said, and without another word the 
two little girls ran down the street. May evi- 
dently was familiar with every turn of the 
streets. They passed several little groups of peo- 
ple, and in a few moments they came to a full 
stop. “ Look ! There he comes. See those sol- 
diers ? ” and she pointed to several men, headed 
by two American soldiers, who were just then 
crossing the street very near to where they were 
standing. 

44 Which one is Governor Trumbull?” asked 
Ellie. 

44 The slender man with the three-cornered 
hat and the long coat. The one who looks so 
sober,” replied May. 

It seemed to Ellie that all the men in the 
little group led by the soldiers looked sober ; 
but May’s pointing finger left no doubt as to 
which one was Governor Jonathan Trumbull, 
and greatly to May’s amazement Ellie darted 
forward, and in a moment was standing beside 
the governor, looking up into the grave kindly 
face, whose dark eyes and firm mouth softened 
as Ellie held out the letter and said, in a voice 
so low that it could hardly be heard : 

44 If you please, sir, this is a message for you.” 


126 


A LITTLE MAID 


The moment the letter was in the governor's 
hand Ellie turned and fled down the street. 
May was close behind her, but neither of them 
spoke. May was so nearly overcome with half- 
terrified admiration of Ellie’s courage in daring 
to approach the governor of Connecticut that 
she could not speak ; and all Ellie could think of 
was that she must get home as quickly as possible. 
It did not occur to her that Governor Trumbull 
might wish to question her, or to send some 
answer to the letter which she had given him. 

“ You’re going straight away from home,” 
May said at last, just as Ellie realized that she 
could not run another step. 

“ Oh, dear ! Why didn’t you tell me be- 
fore?” responded Ellie. “ Where are we ? ” and 
she looked around curiously, realizing that she 
had never been in that part of the town before. 

“ We’re nearly at the ferry. See, there is the 
river. I know a way across the fields that will 
bring us to the back of your garden,” said May, 
looking at her new friend with admiring eyes. 

“ I’m so tired. I wish I could rest a min- 
ute,” said Ellie, looking about as if in search of 
some place where she could sit down. 

“ Let’s crawl under this fence, then we can 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 127 

sit down on the grass,” suggested May, pointing 
to a high rail fence which separated the road 
from a field, and at the same time moving 
toward it. Ellie followed slowly, and the two 
girls had no trouble in crawling under the 
lower rail. They were both very warm, and 
were glad of the shade of a wide-spreading 
maple tree which grew near by. 

“ Did you write the letter to Governor Trum- 
bull ? ” asked May as they sat down. 

Ellie shook her head. “ No, it’s a secret. I 
guess it’s something I can’t tell even the Roses,” 
she responded. “ What is your name besides 
‘May’?” 

“ My name is May Vincent. But you called 
me ‘ Brownie ’ at first. I wish you would al- 
ways call me that,” replied May. 

Ellie agreed to do this, and told Brownie her 
own name, and that she was on a visit to her 
grandmother. As the two girls sat resting in 
the shade they learned a great deal about each 
other. May said that she was ten years old, 
and that her brother Joe was eight. And Ellie 
told her new friend about her own brothers, her 
mother and father, and her pleasant home in 
the country. 


128 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ What did the girl who came with you yes- 
terday mean when she told me to call you 
both 1 Rose ’ ? ” questioned Brownie. 

“ Oh, that's our secret name for each other, 
and for Bertha’s sisters," Ellie explained ; and 
then, realizing suddenly how long a time she 
had been away from home, she jumped up and 
said : “ We must hurry. I ought not to have 
rested so long." 

“ It isn’t so very far across the fields," declared 
Brownie, leading the way. 

“ I am so glad I met you, Brownie ; I don’t 
believe I should have been in time to meet Gov- 
ernor Trumbull if you had not told me to 
hurry and then pointed him out to me," said 
Ellie. 

For a moment Brownie did not reply. She 
was wishing with all her heart that she had gone 
hungry rather than to have taken the strawber- 
ries from her friend’s garden. Then she remem- 
bered that Ellie had helped her pick them for 
Joe, and the thought comforted her. 

As they walked along together near the bank 
of the river Ellie began to look about, thinking 
that, after all, she knew the place. 

“ I have been here before. Look, Brownie," 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 129 

and she pointed up to a steep bank not far dis- 
tant. “ There is Fort Danger. That is where 
the Chaplin girls go to talk secrets ; and Ber- 
tha said it would be just the place for you to 
come and meet us. Come on, Fll show you 
how to get there,” and quite forgetting that she 
was in a hurry to reach home Ellie started off 
toward Fort Danger. 

“ We can’t climb up there,” said Brownie. 

“ No, but we can go through the field and 
slide down,” replied Ellie. 

It did not take them long to reach the top of 
the slope, and Ellie explained just how to slide 
down to Fort Danger. 

“ Hush,” whispered Brownie, who had been 
peering over the top, “ there’s some one down 
there now.” 

Ellie lay down beside Brownie and looked 
over. Then she laughed delightedly. " It’s the 
1 Roses,’ ” she whispered. “ We’ll slide down and 
surprise them. You go first.” 

Almost before she had finished speaking 
Brownie had gone sliding down the steep bank, 
quickly followed by Ellie. 

There was a chorus of surprised shouts from 
the Chaplin girls, and then Bertha exclaimed ; 


A LITTLE MAID 


13° 

“ Why, it's May and Ellie, and I was just tell- 
ing Nancy and Lucy about you,” and she nodded 
smilingly toward Brownie. 

“ Are you just as old as I ?” asked Nancy, 
noticing that her dress fitted the stranger as if 
it had been made for her. 

“ I’m past ten,” replied Brownie. 

“ We came here to-day on purpose to plan 
about you, May,” said Bertha. “ We don't 
mean to let you be hungry again. And we 
have taken a vow that you shall have clothes. 
We called for you, Ellie,” she continued, turn- 
ing toward her friend, “ but Hannah Jane said 
that you were to sew for an hour.” 

“ Oh I ” gasped Ellie, who had entirely for- 
gotten the blue India muslin, “ what will my 
grandma think ! I never set a stitch. What 
time is it ? ” 

“ It must be four o'clock,” Bertha answered, 
looking at Ellie and wondering where she could 
have been all the afternoon. 

“ I roust not stay another minute,” declared 
Ellie, starting for the edge of the terrace. 

Bertha and Mildred both decided that it was 
time for them all to go home. Before they left 
the fort Bertha showed “ Brownie,” as the 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 1 3 1 

“ Roses ” had decided to call their new friend, 
a small flat rock close against the steep bank. 
On lifting the rock a good sized cavity appeared. 

“ Some of us will come every day and leave 
something there for you, Brownie/' Bertha 
promised, “ and if you get into any trouble or 
want us for anything, you can leave a note 
there for us." 

“ I can't write ! " Brownie declared in so 
tragic a tone that the little girls all looked at 
each other as if questioning what was to be done. 

“ I can't either," declared Lucy, “ but Bertha 
is teaching me." 

“ We'll teach you, Brownie," Mildred and 
Ellie both exclaimed, and then with promises 
to meet at the fort early in ttie afternoon of the 
next day, the little girls slid down the bank to 
the river path and started for home. 

To Brownie it had been the happiest day that 
she could remember. She had been neatly 
dressed, she had helped Ellie to deliver a 
message to the governor, and, best of all, she 
thought, she had been welcomed as a friend and 
playmate by girls of her own age ; none of whom 
had made fun of her poverty or run away from 
her, as had happened to her in times past. For 


A LITTLE MAID 


132 

May Vincent had known but little of the kind- 
ness and happiness that most children enjoy. 
Her mother had died when she was a very small 
child, and her father with his two children had 
moved from place to place, never staying in one 
town long enough to make friends who would 
interest themselves in his children. And now 
here were five girls who had promised that she 
should have food and clothes, and who seemed 
to like her. Brownie fairly danced along the 
river path toward her home. She had already 
told Joe and her father that two girls had given 
her the food and clothes. She wished that she 
could tell them about the fort, but she realized 
that Fort Danger was a secret which she had 
been trusted not to betray. 

She was crossing the field where she and Ellie 
had rested, and stopped for a moment in the 
shade of the big maple. Then she crawled 
under the fence, and saw something golden and 
bright almost under her hand. 

“ It’s a piece of gold money ! ” she exclaimed, 
picking it up and looking at it with shining 
happy eyes. “ It must be a lot of money. 
Enough to buy some clothes for Joe. I’ve 
found it, so it’s mine.” 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 133 

Holding it tight in her hand she ran swiftly 
toward home, thinking of all the wonderful 
things that were coming into her life. As she 
neared the tumble-down shack she could see 
her father sitting in the doorway with Joe be- 
side him. 

“ Perhaps father will stay here now. I do 
hope he will,” she thought, waving her hand 
toward Joe, who was running to meet her. 

But Ellie did not approach home with any 
such delight. She walked soberly along beside 
Bertha, wondering what her Grandmother Hin- 
man must think of a little girl who ran away 
without a word of excuse or explanation. And 
Hannah Jane ! How could she dare to face 
Hannah Jane 1 


CHAPTER XIII 


THE SPARE ROOM 

Grandma Hinman had not been greatly 
troubled when she discovered that Ellie was not 
in her room sewing on the blue muslin. She 
knew that the Chaplin girls had called for Ellie, 
and, not hearing Hannah Jane’s reply to their 
inquiry, had taken it for granted that her little 
granddaughter had gone out to play with her 
friends. 

“ ’Tis a warm day for the child to sit indoors, 
and I am glad she is out with her young friends,” 
thought the good-natured old lady. Mrs. Lud- 
low came over with her knitting and the time 
had passed quickly, so when Ellie came running 
into the cool sitting-room, half afraid of what 
her grandmother might say to her, she found 
two smiling old ladies who welcomed her with 
friendly questions about her afternoon’s pleas- 
ure. 

“ Sit here by me, dear child,” said Mrs. Lud- 
low ; “ we have hardly seen each other since our 
134 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 135 

stage-coach journey. But I have not forgotten 
my promise to take you on a visit to the Charter 
Oak.” 

Ellie’s hands and face were dirty, her shoes 
were dusty, and there were grass stains on the 
white dress. Her new hat was perched over one 
ear, and her hair was ruffled. She was so tired 
that she wondered how she could ever walk 
across the room to the big sofa where Mrs. Lud- 
low was sitting. And at that moment she sud- 
denly remembered the golden sovereign, and 
thrust her hand into her pocket to make sure of 
its safety. It was the first time she had thought 
of it since handing Governor Trumbull the letter 
from Barlay. In an instant Ellie realized that 
it was lost. Her pocket was empty ; and quite 
forgetting her grandmother and Mrs. Ludlow 
she exclaimed : “ Oh ! I’ve lost it ! Fve lost 
it!” 

When Mrs. Hinman had noticed Ellie’s untidy 
condition, her smile had faded ; and when Ellie 
failed to curtsy to Mrs. Ludlow her face had 
grown stern. Now at Ellie’s outcry she said : 

“ Ellen, run up-stairs at once and stay until I 
call you.” 

For a moment Ellie stood as if she had not 


A LITTLE MAID 


136 

quite understood her grandmother’s words. In 
all her life she had never before been sent from 
a room. She felt ashamed and ill-treated, and 
left the room quickly. She could hardly see 
the stairs through her tears as she made her way 
to her room. She pushed open the door and 
entered. The room was very dark. The win- 
dows were closed and the curtains closely drawn. 
But the little girl hardly noticed this. She made 
her way to the big bed and flung herself across 
it, sobbing bitterly. 

“ It’s all because of that old message. I wish 
Barlay had never come to our house,” she 
thought. The golden sovereign with which she 
had meant to buy a present for her mother was 
lost, her grandmother had sent her from the 
room, and she was sure that Hannah Jane did 
not like her ; all these things taken together 
seemed more trouble than Ellie could bear. She 
resolved to ask her grandmother if she could 
not go home. A coach would leave for Salis- 
bury the next day. “ I know my mother will 
be glad to see me,” was Ellie’s last waking 
thought, for she was so tired, and the big bed 
was so comfortable that she was off to sleep in a 
very short time. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 137 

“ We will not call Ellen to supper. I was 
obliged to send her to her room,” said Grandma 
Hinman when Hannah Jane said that supper 
was ready. 

Hannah Jane nodded approvingly. It seemed 
to her that it was a good opportunity to tell 
Mrs. Hinman that it was Ellen who had taken 
the strawberries. “ So she’ll na be doubtin’ 
the honesty of other folk,” thought Hannah 
Jane ; so she told of finding Ellie in the straw- 
berry bed, and added that she had seen Ellie slip 
bread and cake into her pocket at the table, and 
that Ellie had asked for a whole cake which she 
had taken to her own room. “ I had na doubt 
the lassie would be sick,” Hannah Jane con- 
cluded. 

Mrs. Hinman listened as if she could hardly 
believe her own ears. She loved her little 
granddaughter dearly, and it was hard to think 
that Ellie could have done all the things of 
which Hannah Jane accused her ; but Mrs. Hin- 
man knew that Hannah Jane was absolutely to 
be trusted, and she could see that the old Scotch- 
woman felt very bad to have such a tale to 
tell. 

“ I cannot understand it. She seemed such a 


A LITTLE MAID 


138 

dear child,” said grandmother, who was nearly 
ready to cry when she thought that her own 
daughter’s little girl could be so unworthy of 
her confidence. 

“ I will go up-stairs a little later, and have a 
talk with the child. Perhaps there is some ex- 
planation for her conduct,” she said, but she had 
little appetite for the excellent supper which 
Hannah Jane had prepared. 

It was twilight when Grandma Hinman, 
carrying a little silver tray on which was a bowl 
of bread and milk and a plate of freshly made 
gingerbread, entered Elbe’s room. The windows 
toward the garden were open, and the fragrance 
of many flowers came into the shadowy room. 
Grandma set the tray on a table and then tip- 
toed toward the bed, thinking that Elbe might 
be asleep. 

The bed was smooth and undisturbed. The 
big pillows had not been touched. Grandma 
looked anxiously around the room ; there was 
no trace of Elbe. Frightened and anxious, she 
hurried to the kitchen. 

“ Hannah Jane, Elbe is not in her room. I 
am afraid she did not go up-stairs at all.” 

Mrs. Hinman’s voice trembled, and her face 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 139 

was very white. Perhaps Ellie had been ill 
after all, out of her head and feverish, and had 
not known what she was doing, and had now 
wandered off, thought grandma. 

“ She’s not gone far. Like as not she’s stepped 
out to the garden where it is cool,” replied Han- 
nah Jane, apparently not at all disturbed by 
Ellie's disappearance. But when a thorough 
search of the garden failed to discover the miss- 
ing girl, and when Peter returned from the 
Chaplins’ saying that Ellie was not there, even 
Hannah Jane became alarmed. It did not 
occur to any of them that the little girl could 
be sound asleep in the big spare room, which 
was never opened unless distinguished visitors 
arrived, but into which Ellie had stumbled, not 
knowing where she went, and thinking only of 
her troubles. 

The Chaplins all joined in the search. A 
constable was called, and went through the 
streets ringing a bell and calling : “ Lost child ! 
Lost child ! A little girl ten years old. Lost 
child ! ” But the summer night went by and 
morning came, and Grandma Hinman, sad and 
nearly ill with anxiety, sat in the big front room 
waiting for some news of Ellie. 


A LITTLE MAID 


140 

It was sunrise before Hannah Jane could per- 
suade her to go to bed, and even then she would 
not go to her own room. “ Open the windows 
in the spare room, Hannah Jane. Perhaps I'll 
sleep if I do not go to my own bed,” she said 
mournfully, reproaching herself for her stern- 
ness toward Ellie. 

Hannah Jane found the door of the room 
ajar and went in quietly. She did not feel quite 
happy when she remembered her own behavior 
toward Ellie. “ I might have been a bit kinder, 
maybe,” she said to herself, as she drew back 
the chintz curtains, and opened the windows. 
Then she turned toward the bed. 

“ Powers defend us ! ” she whispered, as she 
saw Ellie, who had not taken off the dusty 
shoes or the soiled dress, lying across the bed. 

“ An’ me, the loony, never to look in this 
room,” muttered Hannah Jane as she hastened 
down-stairs. 

“ Tis me fault, ma’am. Miss Ellen Elizabeth 
is in the spare room fast asleep with her shoes 
on, and me never thinking to look there for 
her,” she declared. Before Hannah Jane had 
finished speaking Mrs. Hinman was hurry- 
ing up the stairs into the big chamber, and 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 141 

stood looking down at the tear-stained little 
face. 

“ Can you take off her shoes without waking 
her?” she whispered to Hannah Jane, who 
nodded with a little smile on her grim face. 
Then, very carefully, the two women undressed 
the little girl, slipped on her night-dress, and 
Ellie, with a little murmuring sigh of comfort, 
rested between the lavender-scented sheets. 

44 Til lie down beside the child,” said Mrs. 
Hinman, and Hannah Jane nodded under- 
standing^, and closed the door softly behind 
her. 

When Ellie awoke some hours later she looked 
about her in astonishment. She had never seen 
this room before. 11 Oh ! ” she exclaimed, when 
she found that Grandma Hinman was lying 
beside her fast asleep. “ I guess I haven't waked 
up after all. Perhaps Brownie is a dream, too. 
Perhaps I didn't find her picking grandma’s 
nice strawberries, and perhaps I didn’t ask 
Hannah Jane for a cake to give her ; and per- 
haps ” but Grandma Hinman had opened 

her eyes and was smiling at her. Mrs. Hinman 
had heard every word. 

14 Tell me all about Brownie, dear child,” she 


A LITTLE MAID 


142 

said gently. “ I am glad you gave her a cake. 
Tell me about her, and we will ask her to come 
and make us a visit. She is welcome to the 
berries.” 

“ Oh, grandma ! Truly ? ” and with her head 
resting beside Grandma Hinman’s Ellie told 
Brownie’s story, and of the things that the 
Chaplin girls had given her. “ And we have 
adopted her,” she concluded. And grandma 
said that the story had made her very happy, 
and promised to ask Brownie to come for a 
lesson in writing each day. 

“ And grandma, there’s another secret that I 
can’t tell. It’s about Governor Trumbull,” con- 
cluded Ellie. But grandma laughed, and said 
that any secret about the governor must surely 
not be told, so that the little girl felt that all 
her troubles were over. She was sorry about 
the lost gold piece, but now that grandma knew 
all about Brownie the lost money seemed of 
small importance. 

" I must tell Hannah Jane,” grandma said. 
“I cannot have her blame you unjustly,” and 
Ellie agreed. She wondered why she had not 
told her grandmother at once. Ellie knew that 
the “ Five Roses ” would understand. She had 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 143 

not betrayed any of their secrets ; and as Brownie 
was her discovery Ellie decided that she had the 
right to tell Grandma Hinman about her. 

“ Weel, now, Miss Ellie ! ” was Hannah Jane’s 
smiling greeting when the little girl followed 
her grandmother into the dining-room that 
morning. 

“ You know, Hannah Jane, you said it would 
‘ become ’ me to think of little girls who had 
not shoes or a hat to their feet,” Ellie reminded 
her, and Hannah Jane nodded. 

“ I’d ’a’ made a bigger cake, had ye but told 
me,” she replied. 


CHAPTER XIV 


A VISITOR 

Governor Trumbull opened and read the 
letter which Ellie had thrust into his hand 
before he reached Assembly Hall, and his com- 
panions noticed that he was even more grave 
than usual. For the letter warned him that a 
party of Tories were planning to seize him and 
deliver him as a prisoner to the British. 

Governor Jonathan Trumbull had been a 
special object of the enemy’s vengeance because 
of his unfaltering patriotism. But this was the 
first warning that he had received of his own 
personal danger. 

“ Who was the child who handed me this 
note?” he asked, turning to one of his com- 
panions. 

“ There were two little girls, Your Excellency,” 
responded the man, who was a resident of Hart- 
ford. “ I think one of them lives in Brown 
Lane, but the other child I have never seen.” 

144 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 145 

u They must be found at once,” declared the 
governor. “ Lose no time in sending men in 
search of them. And bring them to my lodg- 
ing. Read this,” and he handed the letter to his 
companion. So that while Ellie and Brownie 
were at Fort Danger the streets of Hartford were 
being searched for them, and Mr. Vincent had 
been sharply questioned as to the whereabouts of 
his small daughter, and as to his knowledge of 
her companions. 

It was at a time when British ships were 
cruising up and down the Connecticut coast, 
sweeping it clear of American vessels, and 
plundering the seaport towns. Often these 
craft made their way into the Connecticut 
River, and the inhabitants of all the river towns 
were constantly on the alert for the enemy. 
Many British prisoners of war were held in Hart- 
ford, and it was sometimes feared that these 
men had some way of communicating with their 
friends, and giving information as to American 
supplies of powder which were stored in that 
town. And Governor Trumbull thought it 
possible that this mysterious message must have 
been written by some one who was familiar with 
the enemy’s plans. His personal guard was at 


i 4 6 A LITTLE MAID 

once increased, and precautions taken to protect 
the buildings where the powder was stored. 
Meanwhile the governor waited for some news 
of the children who had brought the letter, and 
late in the afternoon May Vincent, accompanied 
by her father and brother, was brought to him, 
and the gentleman who had walked beside the 
governor declared that May was one of the girls 
who had approached Governor Trumbull on his 
way to the General Assembly, and had handed 
him the letter. 

Poor Brownie was thoroughly frightened, but 
determined that whatever happened to her she 
would not betray Ellie. She was almost glad 
of the opportunity of showing her loyalty to her 
friend. And she would not answer any ques- 
tion in regard to her companion of the afternoon. 
Her father and little Joe waited for her at the 
entrance to the governor’s house, both greatly 
alarmed but sure that it must be a mistake. 

Governor Trumbull had questioned her him- 
self, and at last said : 

“ My child, you need not be afraid that I 
mean any harm to the little girl who gave me 
the letter. It is quite the contrary. She did 
me a great favor. I want to see her and thank 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 14 7 

her, and, if possible, reward her. It is possible 
that she has saved my life.” 

At these words May looked up at the grave 
friendly face, whose dark eyes rested upon her 
so kindly. She did not question his words or 
their meaning. She was sure that he could be 
trusted, and she now was eager to tell all she 
knew about Ellie. Beginning with their meet- 
ing in Mrs. Hinman’s strawberry bed she told 
of Ellie’s kindness to her, and of her wish to 
give the letter into his own hands. 

The governor had smiled at the mention of 
the name of Mrs. Hinman, but he was still curi- 
ous as to who had written the letter. 

“ Madame Hinman is an old and valued 
friend, and I am glad that the letter comes from 
one of her family,” he said as May finished. 

“ Now, my child, you have conferred a favor 
on me, and I wish to reward you. What shall 
I give you for yourself? ” 

May smiled with delight. 

“ If you please, sir, would you shake hands 
with my father? He is waiting for me, and it 
would make him proud indeed,” she said. 

“ You are a good child,” responded Governor 
Trumbull, leading the way to the door, where 


A LITTLE MAID 


148 

Mr. Vincent stood waiting. The governor 
noticed that the man was lame and poorly 
clothed, and that the little boy was ragged. 

“ Your little daughter has asked me to shake 
hands with you, Mr. Vincent/' he said smilingly, 
and their hands met in a firm clasp. Then with 
a friendly word to Joe and May, His Excellency 
bade them good-night, and returned to his 
sitting-room. 

“ I will call on Madame Hinman to-morrow, 
and make the acquaintance of her grand- 
daughter," he thought, as he sat down at his 
desk, “ and I must see if I cannot find employ- 
ment for this Vincent. He has not been for- 
tunate." 

May's father heard the story of Ellie and the 
letter as the little family walked back to the 
tumble-down house in Brown Lane. 

“ 'Tis a proud day for me," the lame man de- 
clared. “ I never expected to shake hands with 
Jonathan Trumbull. See that you always re- 
member this day, children." And then May 
showed them the golden sovereign which she had 
found, and her father agreed that on the next 
day they would buy clothes for little Joe. 

“ Maybe better times are coming to us. If I 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 149 

could but get steady work we’d do nicely,” said 
Mr. Vincent. 

At an early hour the next morning, Governor 
Trumbull, accompanied by an armed escort, ar- 
rived at the brick mansion-house on Market 
Square, and when Hannah Jane opened the 
front door and confronted the governor she was 
nearly speechless with surprise. 

“ Will you ask your mistress if she will see 
Jonathan Trumbull ? ” said the governor. 

“ Yes, Your Excellency,” stammered Hannah 
Jane, with a stiff curtsy. “ Will you please to 
step in ? ” 

Governor Trumbull entered the cool parlor, 
while Hannah Jane hastened away to find Mrs. 
Hinman and tell her the wonderful news. 
Years ago, Hannah Jane remembered, the gov- 
ernor and his young daughter had been there, 
but then he was only “ young Mr. Trumbull,” 
the son of a prosperous merchant ; but now all 
Connecticut trusted in his judgment and energy 
to preserve their freedom. 

It seemed to Hannah Jane that her mistress 
received the news that the governor of Connec- 
ticut was waiting in her parlor in much too calm 


1 5 ° 


A LITTLE MAID 


a manner. “ Quite as if governors and princes 
were always making morning calls in this 
house,” thought the elderly Scotchwoman. But 
Miss Ellen Elizabeth was apparently fright- 
ened. 

“ Oh, grandmother ! Has he come to see 
me?” she asked, looking as if she were ready 
to cry. 

Mrs. Hinman smiled at the little girl’s excite- 
ment. “ Why, my dear, you need not be fright- 
ened. Only yesterday you were wishing that 
you might see Governor Trumbull, and here he 
is in our parlor this very minute,” and taking 
Ellie by the hand she led her down the stairs 
and into the big front room. 

Mrs. Hinman was greatly pleased and honored 
that her old friend had taken time to call upon 
her. But she was greatly surprised when, tak- 
ing Ellie’s hand, he smiled down upon the little 
girl and said : 

“ It is really Miss Ellen Elizabeth Barlow 
whom I came to see,” and then he handed Mrs. 
Hinman the letter, and told her that Ellie had 
given it to him yesterday on his way to the 
General Assembly. 

“Why, where did you get this, Ellie?” 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 151 

Grandma Hinman questioned. “ I knew noth- 
ing of this, Mr. Trumbull,” she said. 

“ Oh, grandma, it's a secret,” Ellie pleaded. 
“ My mother and father both told me not to 
tell.” 

“ Did your father send me the letter? ” ques- 
tioned the governor. “ It was a friendly act, 
from whomever it came,” he added quickly, “ but 
I must try my best to discover who wrote it, for 
I feel sure he can give me valuable information. 
Perhaps if your father and mother knew that it 
was the governor of Connecticut who asked your 
confidence they would bid you to tell me all you 
can.” 

“ I am sure they would,” said Grandma Hin- 
man. “ Tell our friend just who gave you the 
letter, dear child, and all you know about it. I 
will make it right with your father and mother.” 

So Ellie, sitting on the big sofa beside Gov- 
ernor Trumbull, with her hand resting in his, 
told him the story of Stephen's prisoner. That 
his name was the same as that of her father, and 
that the boys called him “ Barlay.” 

“He knows about stars, and silkworms, and 
birds and plants,” she added, and then told of 
her putting his package in her bandbox, and 


152 A LITTLE MAID 

how frightened she had been when she thought 
it was lost. 

“ There was a golden sovereign for me in the 
package, but I put it in my pocket and lost it,” 
said Ellie as she finished the story. 

“ And so this was your secret about Governor 
Trumbull?” said grandma smilingly. “ Well, 
my dear, I think you have proved that you can 
be trusted with secrets.” 

The governor said that later on he must see 
the young deserter from the British Army and 
question him. “ I can trust David Barlow and 
his family to keep him safely until that time,” he 
added. 

Ellie listened while Governor Trumbull told 
Mrs. Hinman of an ingenious contrivance for 
damaging ships of the enemy which had just 
been brought to his notice by a Mr. Bushnell 
from Saybrook. 

“ It is a machine not unlike a large turtle. 
In the head is an opening, sufficiently large to 
admit a man. This apartment is air-tight, but 
is supplied with sufficient air to support life for 
thirty minutes. The operator has oar and rud- 
der to direct his course. At the bottom is an 
aperture, with a valve, to admit water, so that 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 153 

the 1 turtle ’ can submerge, and two pumps to 
eject the water, when necessary to rise to the 
surface. 

“ Behind the ‘ head/ ” continued Governor 
Trumbull, who was evidently greatly interested 
in the “ turtle/’ “ and above the rudder, is a 
place for carrying a large powder magazine. 
This is made of two pieces of oak timber, hol- 
lowed out, and large enough to hold one hun- 
dred and fifty pounds of powder, with the appa- 
ratus for firing it, and can be located in any 
place where it is designed to act by means of a 
screw turned by the operator. Within the pow- 
der magazine is a piece of clockwork, capable of 
running twelve hours. The operator can set 
this, a sort of gun-lock, and be safely away be- 
fore the explosion takes place,” concluded Gov- 
ernor Trumbull, rising to his feet and declaring 
that he must hasten away. 

“ These ‘ turtles ’ may do good service in pro- 
tecting our coast and harbors,” he added, and 
smiled down at Ellie, who thought this must be 
the most wonderful machine that was ever made. 
He thanked her very gravely for the service she 
had rendered him, and Ellie and Mrs. Hinman 
walked with him to the porch, where they both 


A LITTLE MAID 


154 

made their best curtsy, and then stood watching 
him as, with his guard, he walked down the 
street. 

“ My dear, we have been greatly honored this 
morning/' said Grandma Hinman, as she and 
Ellie returned to the parlor, “ and I am proud 
indeed that my little granddaughter could be of 
service to so true a patriot as Jonathan Trum- 
bull." 


CHAPTER XV 


JUST A FRIEND 

The little Chaplin girls came running to meet 
Ellie as, smiling and full of delight over all that 
had happened that morning, she came into the 
garden. They had seen Governor Trumbull 
and his staff arrive at the Hinman house ; but 
as Mrs. Chaplin had said that he was an old 
friend of Ellie’s grandmother, they did not for a 
moment imagine that his visit had anything to 
do with their little friend. They were eager to 
tell Ellie of how frightened they had all been at 
her disappearance, and how delighted they were 
when Peter brought the news that she had been 
safe at home all night. Mildred had ventured 
to say that : “ Perhaps Ellie went into the 
spare room on purpose, just to frighten her 
grandmother.” But Bertha had instantly de- 
clared that Ellie wasn’t “ that kind.” 

“ Ellie always plays fair,” Bertha had said, 
and as the younger sisters always accepted 
155 


A LITTLE MAID 


* 5 6 

Bertha's opinion no more was said. But Mil- 
dred wondered to herself what had happened to 
make Ellie look so happy as she came running 
to meet them. 

“ Oh, girls, come into the summer-house. 
What do you suppose I said when I woke up in 
the spare room this morning ? ” said Ellie, after 
they had exchanged greetings. 

There was a chorus of questions. Mildred 
had clasped Ellie's hand, Nancy was clinging 
to her other arm, while Bertha and Lucy, eager 
and smiling, kept as near to her as possible. 

“ Well, I woke up and didn't know where I 
was,” began Ellie, “ and there was Grandma 
Hinman in the bed beside me, asleep ; I thought 
she was asleep, but she wasn't. And I began to 
talk out loud and say : ‘ Oh, this is another 
dream. Perhaps Brownie is a dream, too. Per- 
haps I didn't find her picking grandma's straw- 
berries ; and perhaps I didn't ask Hannah Jane 
for a cake to give her' — and then grandma 
opened her eyes. She had heard every word, 
and she was so glad ; because, you see, she had 
thought that I had eaten the strawberries and 
the cake. And she says I may ask Brownie to 
come and see me,” concluded Ellie, wondering 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 157 

why Mildred had let go her hand, and Nancy 
no longer clasped her arm. 

For a moment none of the girls spoke. They 
felt that Ellie had betrayed their secret. To do 
things for a little girl of whom nobody knew, to 
give up something they wanted in order that 
Brownie might have it, and keep it all unknown 
to grown-up people, had seemed worth while. 
And now Ellie had spoiled it all by telling her 
grandmother. Mildred looked at Bertha a little 
triumphantly. Was Ellie “ playing fair ” now ? 
Mildred did not believe Ellie's story. “ She 
made that up,” she thought, and was now quite 
sure that her idea ‘of Ellie hiding in the spare 
room on purpose was true. 

“ Did you tell your grandmother all our 
secrets ? ” asked Mildred scornfully ; “ about 
the 1 Five Roses/ and ‘ Fort Danger ' and the 
hiding-place under the flat stone? You could 
make believe that you dreamed those, too.” 

Ellie's smile vanished as she listened to Mil- 
dred's angry words, and saw that the others 
were looking at her with accusing eyes. She 
had been so sure that they would understand 
just how it had happened, and that it was ex- 
actly as she had described. 


158 A LITTLE MAID 

“ I truly did not mean to tell,” she said 
slowly, looking from one to the other of her 
friends, hoping for some kindly look of under- 
standing, and then adding a little defiantly, 
“ but I am glad I did.” 

“ Come, girls, we had better go home,” said 
Mildred, taking Lucy by the hand. “ Good-bye, 
Miss Ellen Elizabeth Barlow,” and she marched 
out of the summer-house, followed by her sisters. 

Ellie watched them go without a word. “ I 
suppose they think I did tell about Fort Danger,” 
she thought. Then she began to cry. It had 
seemed such a wonderful thing to have four 
little girls for neighbors — four little girls who 
were ready to be friendly, and to include her in 
all their pleasures. And now they had deserted 
her. What was the use of a pretty blue India 
muslin and fine shoes with silver buckles, or 
even the praise of Governor Jonathan Trum- 
bull, if the little Chaplin girls no longer be- 
lieved and trusted her ? 

“ Don't cry, Ellie.” The soft whisper made 
her stop suddenly. “ It was Bertha,” she 
thought happily, “ come back to make friends,” 
and she turned about to see Brownie standing 
there, looking as if she too was very unhappy. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 159 

“ Oh ! I hoped it was Bertha ! ” Ellie ex- 
claimed. 

“ No, it’s only me,” responded Brownie in so 
sorrowful a tone that for a moment Ellie forgot 
her own trouble. 

“What is the matter, Brownie ?” she asked. 

“ Why— why— you were crying,” replied 
Brownie, as if that was enough to explain her 
own worry. “ I don't suppose you care to tell 
me what made you cry ? ” she added, wishing 
that there was something that she could do or 
say to comfort Ellie. 

“ Yes, the Chaplin girls don't like me any 
more. I told Grandma Hinman about you, 
Brownie, and they don't like it.” 

“ Oh I ” Brownie drew a long breath, and 
looked as if she were ready to run away too. 
“What did your grandma say? About me, I 
mean ? ” she asked. 

“ She was real glad, Brownie. I don't know 
as she was glad about the strawberries, but she 
was glad that I told her. And she said I must 
ask you to come and see me. Where are you 
going? ” for Brownie had started for the door. 

“ She'll ask me questions, and maybe have me 
shut up,” declared Brownie in a frightened 


160 A LITTLE MAID 

voice ; but before she finished Ellie was beside 
her, holding her fast by the arm. 

“ She won’t, Brownie. Truly. She is always 
kind, and she will smile at you and say that 
she is glad to see you,” Ellie declared earnestly 
and looked up to see Grandma Hinman stand- 
ing in the door of the summer-house. 

“ You are glad to see Brownie, are you not, 
grandma?” and Brownie looked up to see a 
kindly face smiling down at her. 

“ Why, of course I am. So you helped Ellie 
to give Governor Trumbull a message which 
was of the greatest importance ! ” she said. “ I 
am sure the governor would wish to thank you, 
as he did Ellie, this very morning.” 

“ Yes, indeed,” added Ellie, who was now 
smiling and had quite forgotten her own trouble. 

“You must stay and have dinner with Ellie,” 
Mrs. Hinman added, but Brownie shook her 
head. 

“ Thank you, ma’am, but I mustn’t stay. My 
father is at home, and Joe. We are going to 
have a dinner ourselves to-day,” she added 
proudly. “ You see, I found a golden sovereign 
yesterday, and so I bought some things to eat, 
and I got Joe some clothes, and I have five 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 161 

shillings left,” she added with so much happi- 
ness in her voice that grandma and Ellie were 
both glad that she had found a golden sover- 
eign. And Ellie resolved quickly never to let 
Brownie know that she had lost a sovereign. 

Brownie went into the house with her friends, 
and Hannah Jane, after a sharp look at the little 
girl, smiled a little grimly ; and when Brownie 
declared that it was time for her to go Hannah 
Jane stood at the door with a covered basket. 
“ Here, lassie ; the mistress put a few bits in this 
for ye,” she said kindly, so that Brownie started 
for home quite sure that she had made new 
friends that morning. 

But in spite of all her good fortune she 
was not quite happy. She remembered Elbe’s 
tears. “ And it was because she told about me 
that she was crying,” thought Brownie, feeling 
as if she were in some way to blame. 

Little Joe was on the outlook for her as usual, 
and came running to meet her. “ A man came 
after father,” he announced proudly, “ a tall sol- 
dier man, and he gave me a shilling.” 

Brownie was not altogether pleased at his 
news. What could a soldier man want of her 
father? she wondered. But there was the 


1 62 A LITTLE MAID 

basket to open, and dinner to prepare, and she 
was so excited over the meat pie and molasses 
cookies which the basket contained, as well as 
a loaf of bread, that she forgot to worry about 
her father. 

“ We'll set a table, Joe, like folks do who have 
dinner every day," she said proudly, drawing a 
rickety old table to the center of the room, and 
bringing her few dishes from a shelf in the 
corner of the room. 

Before their table was spread they heard their 
father's step at the door, and they both ran to 
meet him, eager to tell of the meat pie and 
cookies, and of the potatoes and cabbage which 
Brownie had put to boil in the kettle over the 
fire. 

“ I have some good news, myself," said Mr. 
Vincent. “ I'm to be one of the watchmen 
where the powder is stored. I begin this 
night," he concluded. 

“ Then we will stay here ! I'm so glad," said 
May, looking around the dark, untidy room as 
if it were the most beautiful place she could 
imagine. 

“ Maybe we can fix up the place a bit," said 
her father. 44 Things seem to be improving for 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 163 

us. 'Tis like a miracle,” he added to himself 
in a whisper. “ Me to have steady work, and 
folks wishing to be kind to my girl.” 

Brownie was too busy at home that afternoon 
to go to Fort Danger for her first lesson in 
penmanship. It was late in the afternoon when 
she saw Bertha Chaplin coming down the lane 
toward the house. 

44 Why didn't you come to Fort Danger, the 
way you promised ? ” asked Bertha, as Brownie 
came to the door. 

“ I couldn't come. You know I said perhaps 
I couldn't,” she explained. “ My father has 
steady work now, and I'm going to keep house 
just the way other folks do,” Brownie added 
proudly. 

“ Well, I can give you a lesson here, if you 
wish me to,” said Bertha. 

But there was not such a thing as ink, a quill 
pen or a scrap of paper in the poor little house. 

“ How were you going to teach me at Fort 
Danger? ” questioned Brownie. 

For a moment Bertha stood looking at her, 
then she began to laugh. “ I never thought 
about pen and ink,” she owned. “ I guess you 


1 64 A LITTLE MAID 

had better come to my house for a lesson, any- 
way. You see Ellen Barlow told her grand- 
mother about you, and she told my grand- 
mother. So you are not a secret any more; 
you are just a friend.” 


CHAPTER XVI 


A TEA PARTY 

Ellie sewed on the muslin dress, sitting be- 
side Grandma Hinman in the big pleasant 
chamber. Grandma told the little girl of the 
days when Ellie’s mother had sat in that very 
chair and sewed, just as Ellie was doing, and 
Ellie listened eagerly. It was difficult to imagine 
her mother as a little girl. 

“ Your mother had a playhouse at the end of 
the garden,” said grandma, “ and she had two 
Maltese kittens for playmates. They used to 
follow her about everywhere.’' 

“ There is a big Maltese cat in Hannah Jane’s 
kitchen,” said Ellie. 

“ It is one of the great-grandchildren of your 
mother’s kittens,” said grandma smilingly, and 
Ellie resolved to make friends with this cat, and 
to ask grandma to show her where her mother’s 
playhouse had been. 


165 


1 66 


A LITTLE MAID 


The hour passed quickly, and then Mrs. 
Hinman sent Ellie out to the summer-house. 

“ Peter will show you where your mother 
used to ‘ keep house/ ” grandma said, as she 
folded up the work. 

The day seemed very long to Ellie, and she 
wondered what the little Chaplin girls were 
doing. 

“ I suppose they are all at Fort Danger,” she 
thought with a little sigh, as she walked along 
the path to the summer-house. Just then she 
felt something rub against her ankle and looked 
down to find the big Maltese cat close beside 
her; and just behind the cat ran two little 
Maltese kittens, so fat and round that they 
seemed like little balls of gray fur. 

“ Oh, Maltie ! ” exclaimed Ellie, sitting down 
and reaching out to take one of the kittens into 
her lap. “ Did you bring the kittens on purpose 
for me to see them ? ” she continued, smoothing 
Maltie’s sleek head with one hand while she 
held one of the kittens with the other. 

Maltie purred with satisfaction. This was 
exactly as things ought to be, she seemed to say, 
as she settled down comfortably in Ellie’s lap 
while the kittens bounced about like rubber balls, 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 167 

stopping now and then to look at their new 
playmate as if to assure her that she was quite 
welcome to share in their games. 

Peter, coming along the path, smiled down on 
the little group. “ Weel ! Weel ! " he said. 
“ Tis like the days when your mither was a 
little lass playing in this garden." 

“ Where was her playhouse, Peter? Will you 
please show me?” Ellie asked, jumping up, but 
still holding the two kittens in her arms. 

“ Yes, indeed, Miss Ellen, and 'tis a pity ye 
have not been there before," said Peter, leading 
the way along the path, closely followed by 
Ellie and Maltie. 

“ 'Tis at the far end of the garden behind the 
lilacs," said Peter. “ There's a small bench there 
I made for your mither, but there's not much 
else the same." 

It was a pleasant shady corner, and Ellie 
looked about and wished that her mother was 
there beside her as she sat down on the little 
bench. She looked up to thank Peter, but he 
had turned back to the house. But the kittens 
proved good playmates, and Ellie was trying to 
think what names she should give them, when 
a rustling noise made her look up, and there 


1 68 


A LITTLE MAID 


stood Hannah Jane carrying a basket, and smil- 
ing as Ellie had never seen Hannah Jane smile 
before. 

“ I've been hoping ye’d come to this corner, 
Miss Ellie,” she said, resting the basket on the 
bench beside the little girl, “ and what do ye 
call the kittens ? ” 

“ I was trying to think of names. What did 
my mother call her kittens ? ” 

“ To think of your wantin’ to know that ! 
Weel, I can tell ye. Your mither always called 
her little cats Rosy and Posy,” said Hannah 
Jane, who was now taking the cover from the 
basket. 

Ellie laughed happily. “Then I’ll call my 
kittens Rosy and Posy. I can call the kittens 
mine while I stay, can’t I, Hannah Jane?” 

“ To be sure ye can. An’ I doubt not ye can 
take them home with ye, if so be ye want to,” 
responded Hannah Jane, who now regarded 
Ellie with great kindness, and no longer called 
her “ Miss Ellen Elizabeth.” 

“ Look at this now, Miss Ellie,” and Ellie 
looked up to see Hannah Jane holding a tiny 
cup and saucer in each hand. She set them 
down on the bench beside the little girl, with a 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 169 

word of warning to the “ little cats,” and in a 
few moments there was an entire little tea-set of 
sprigged china 011 the bench beside Ellie. 

“ Your grandmither has been saving these all 
the past years to give ye when you came here 
for a visit,” explained Hannah Jane, “ an* now 
I’ll fetch the little round table and ye can ask 
the little girls next door to a tea party.” 

“ I — I — I’d rather have just grandma, Hannah 
Jane,” Ellie replied, greatly to Hannah Jane’s 
approval. 

There were other things beside the tea-set in 
the basket. There were six tiny silver spoons, 
and six small damask napkins, and in one 
corner of the basket there was a doll. A 
china doll, with red cheeks, and black eyes, 
and wearing a scarlet dress, and shoes of scarlet 
silk. 

Ellie lifted it out very carefully. Old Maltie 
was asleep on the grass with Rosy and Posy 
running about. For the moment Ellie quite 
forgot them as she sat holding this beautiful 
doll, and looking at the sprigged china ; and 
when Hannah Jane returned with the little 
round table she said : “ Your grandmither and 
Mrs. Ludlow are coming to take tea with ye. 


A LITTLE MAID 


170 

I’ll step back to the house and fetch the tray. 
The doll's name is Angeline.” 

“ 1 Angeline/ ‘ Rosy ' and 1 Posy/ ” Ellie re- 
peated the names of her new friends with de- 
light, and when Grandma Hinman and Mrs. 
Ludlow arrived they found a very happy and 
smiling little girl ready to greet them. 

Ellie did not forget her curtsy this time, and 
Mrs. Ludlow, just lifting her skirts with her 
finger-tips, made a deep curtsy in response, with 
the gay little laugh which had so delighted Ellie 
on their first meeting in the stage-coach. 

Then Hannah Jane came round the big lilac 
tree with the tray. Ellie spread the little table 
and served her guests, not forgetting to set a 
saucer of cream for Rosy and Posy, and to urge 
Angeline to help herself to the cake. 

Mrs. Ludlow was greatly interested to hear 
the story of the young English deserter from 
the British Army. 

“ I make no doubt but what many of the 
English soldiers will stay in this country at the 
end of the war, and be ready to defend America 
when need be,” she said. “ And we can ask for 
no better citizens than those of English blood.” 

Ellie looked at Mrs. Ludlow in surprise, for 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 171 

it was a time when loyal Americans had but 
few words of praise for the English ; but the 
good lady nodded and said : 

44 Your own grandfather was as fine an Eng- 
lishman as the best, Miss Ellen. And the Eng- 
lish must suffer now because of the pride and 
folly of their Tory king.” 

“ Yes, ma’am,” responded Ellie, so promptly 
that both the ladies laughed. 

“ I have been telling my little granddaughters 
some old English riddles,” continued Mrs. Lud- 
low. 44 Now I’ll see if you can guess one : 

44 1 There was a girl in our town, 

Silk an 7 satin was her gown, 

Silk an 1 satin, gold an’ velvet, 

Guess her name, three times I’ve telled it . 9 79 

But Ellie could not guess it. 

41 Ann,” said Mrs. Ludlow, with her gay laugh. 

44 Tell me another ! ” urged Ellie. 

44 Well, here is one that I am sure you will 
guess,” agreed Mrs. Ludlow. 

44 1 Flour of England, fruit of Spain, 

Met together in a shower of rain j 
Put in a bag tied round with a string, 

If you’ll tell me this riddle I’ll give you a ring.’ ” 


A LITTLE MAID 


172 

But Ellie shook her head hopelessly, and 
when Mrs. Ludlow said : “ A plum-pudding, of 
course,” she wondered why she had not thought 
of it at once. 

“ Do you know any riddles, grandma ? ” asked 
Ellie. 

“ No, dear child. I cannot remember one, I 
am sorry to say,” responded Mrs. Hinman. 
“ When Hannah Jane comes for the tray ask 
her to tell you some of the old proverbs that 
she so often quotes.” 

“ What is a 1 proverb ’ ? ” asked Ellie, who had 
never before heard the word. 

“ I suppose it is what Hannah Jane would 
call ‘ a wise saying/ ” replied Mrs. Hinman. 

It was not long before Hannah Jane appeared, 
and Ellie ran to meet her. 

“ Hannah Jane, would you please to tell me a 
proverb ? ” she asked. 

“ Yes, Hannah Jane,” said Mrs. Hinman. 
44 You know you taught Ellie’s mother a num- 
ber of useful proverbs.” 

The old Scotchwoman was evidently pleased 
at the suggestion. Looking straight over Ellie’s 
head, and speaking each word very distinctly, 
she repeated : 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 173 

“ ‘For every evil under the sun, 

There be a remedy, or there be none. 

If there be one, try and find it ,* 

If there be none, never mind it.* ” 

“Oh, I have heard my mother say that/' de- 
clared Ellie. 

“ Weel, 'twas mesilf taught her the words/' 
said Hannah Jane, bearing away the tray. 

“ I came on an errand, and I have been so 
well entertained that I nearly forgot it," said 
Mrs. Ludlow, as she rose to go. “ Mr. and Mrs. 
Chaplin bade me ask if Mrs. Hinman and Ellie 
would do them the honor of being their guests 
on a picnic to the Charter Oak on Thursday. 
We plan to go in the big wagon." 

“ Yes, indeed," Mrs. Hinman replied. “ It is 
most kind of Mrs. Chaplin, and I am very glad 
that Ellie can see the place where Connecticut’s 
charter was safely hidden." 

Neither of the older ladies thought it strange 
that Ellie should remain silent. It was consid- 
ered only proper that children should not speak 
on such occasions, unless asked to do so ; and 
Mrs. Hinman and Mrs. Ludlow were both sure 
that Ellie must be pleased at the thought of the 
proposed excursion with her young friends. 


A LITTLE MAID 


*74 

“ Thank you, grandma, for letting me play 
with the tea-set and the doll,” said Ellie, put- 
ting Angeline carefully back in the corner of 
the basket. 

“ But, dear child, you can play with them 
whenever you please. They are yours. I meant 
to give them to you as soon as you came, but 
the days have passed so quickly that I nearly 
forgot,” responded grandma. 

“ It seems as if I had everything,” declared 
Ellie, holding Angeline very closely, and look- 
ing at the two kittens. “ I wish my mother 
could see us this minute. I guess she would be 
glad.” 

“ Now I will tell you what I plan to do with 
the kittens,” said grandma, lifting “ Posy ” to 
her lap. “ I plan for you to take them home 
when you go, as a present to your mother.” 

“ It’s been lovely this afternoon, grandma. I 
have had the best time of all my visit,” said 
Ellie, for she was resolved to remember Hannah 
Jane’s proverb, and not be unhappy over the 
desertion of the little Chaplin girls. For she 
knew that she had not deserved their unkind- 
ness. And as she could not find any way to 
remedy the trouble she resolved “ not to mind 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 175 

it,” and carrying Angeline in her arms, with 
Rosy and Posy bouncing along beside her, she 
walked back to the house with her grandmother, 
listening attentively to Mrs. Hinman’s story of 
Angeline, who had been purchased in London 
by a seafaring relative of Elbe’s grandfather, 
and brought home as a present to Mr. Hinman’s 
little daughter. 


CHAPTER XVII 

MILDRED AND NANCY 

It was the day after Ellie’s tea party in the 
garden, and the little Chaplin girls were all at F ort 
Danger ; but they were not in their usual good 
spirits. 

Brownie had come to the house for her first 
lesson in writing, but she had been very quiet, 
and had hurried away to join Ellie in Mrs. Hin- 
man’s summer-house. The Chaplin girls had 
heard from Mrs. Ludlow all about the wonderful 
tea-set, the doll, and the two Maltese kittens, 
and Lucy had cried because her sisters would 
not let her go and play with Ellie and see all 
these delightful things. If Mildred had not con- 
stantly reminded her sisters that Ellie was a 
“ traitor/’ in having betrayed a secret which was 
not wholly her own, Nancy and Bertha would 
have agreed to let Lucy carry out her plan, and 
perhaps have gone with her. 

That very morning Mrs. Ludlow had praised 
176 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 177 

Ellie very highly, speaking of her pretty man- 
ners and her good disposition, and even praising 
her for telling Mrs. Hinman about May Vincent. 
“ Although of course Ellie did not realize that 
she was awake,” Mrs. Ludlow had said. The 
sisters were thinking of what their grandmother 
had said as they reached the fort. 

“ What are we going to play to-day ? ” asked 
Nancy. “ Shall we play General Washington 
and Lafayette? If we do, I’m going to be 
Lafayette,” and she looked questioningly toward 
Bertha. 

But Bertha shook her head. “ No,” she re- 
plied. “ I have been thinking about Ellen Bar- 
low, and I think we weren’t fair. It was horrid 
to speak to her the way you did, Mildred. And 
I have made up my mind to go straight back 
and tell her that I am sorry,” and Bertha ap- 
proached the edge of the terrace ready to slide 
down. 

“ Oh, goody!” exclaimed Lucy. “ I’ll go, 
too.” 

“ And so will I,” said Nancy. “ Come on, 
Mildred. You ought to be the first one to tell 
Ellie that you are sorry, for you really made all 
the trouble.” 


A LITTLE MAID 


178 

“ Take that back, Nancy Chaplin,” exclaimed 
Mildred, springing up, her face flushed with 
anger. “ Just because I was honest and spoke 
the truth, you put all the blame on me. All 
you want to make up with her for is so that you 
can play with her tea-set and that old doll.” 

Bertha and Lucy had already slid down the 
bank and started for home, expecting the others 
would quickly follow. They had not heard 
Mildred’s angry words. 

“ I won’t take it back/’ Nancy replied val- 
iantly. “ You just the same as told Ellie that 
she had spoken a falsehood. And you know 
she told the truth. You can stay here and sulk 
if you want to. I’ve a great mind to tell mother 
all about it,” and Nancy turned to follow her 
sisters. 

But Mildred was now too angry to realize 
what she was doing. She ran toward her sister 
and gave her an ugly push, which sent poor lit- 
tle Nancy tumbling headlong over the steep 
cliff. Nancy screamed as she felt herself going, 
and Bertha looked back quickly, just in time to 
see her little sister as she fell in the grass be- 
neath the fort. 

Bertha ran back as fast as she could go. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 179 

Nancy was lying there in a little huddled heap, 
apparently stunned by the fall. 

u Ruri and fill your hat with water, Lucy,” 
said Bertha as she straightened out the little 
figure. “ Oh, Nancy, how did you happen to 
fall ? ” she whispered. 

In a moment Lucy was back with her pretty 
hat dripping with water, and as Bertha turned it 
over Nancy's face she moved slightly and opened 
her eyes. Then she moaned as if in pain. 

“ My arm hurts,” she said faintly, “ and so 
does my foot.” 

“ Mildred ! Mildred I ” called Bertha. “ Come 
down. Nancy is hurt,” and as Mildred, with 
white face and frightened eyes stood beside them, 
Bertha said : “ Hurry ! Run just as fast as you 
can, and tell mother that Nancy fell off the fort 
and is hurt;” and Mildred raced off, while 
Bertha lifted Nancy to a sitting position and let 
her rest against her shoulder, while she endeav- 
ored to comfort her. It was evident that Nancy 
was in great pain, but she was trying to be brave. 

Lucy sat close by. “ I think Nancy is brave,” 
she said, and Nancy responded with a little 
whisper : “ Five Roses,” which made Bertha 
take courage. 


180 A LITTLE MAID 

As Mildred raced along the path toward home 
the tears were running down her cheeks. 

“ What shall I do? What shall I do?” she 
sobbed aloud, wishing with all her heart that 
she had not given Nancy that angry push. 
When she came rushing into the house her 
mother exclaimed in fright at her little daugh- 
ter’s woeful appearance. 

“ It’s Nancy ! She is hurt. Oh, hurry,” 
cried Mildred, “ down at the foot of the bluff. 
She can’t walk,” and almost before she had 
finished speaking Mrs. Chaplin had started, 
while Mrs. Ludlow questioned Mildred, and de- 
cided that it would be best to send the gardener 
to bring Nancy home, and to ask Mrs. Hinman 
to send Peter for a physician. 

Mildred had thrown herself on a wide settle 
in the sitting-room. She heard them when they 
brought Nancy home and carried her up-stairs. 
She heard the doctor’s arrival, and then she got 
up and crept to the stairway. A dreadful fear 
had entered her heart. Suppose that Nancy 
should always be lame ? 

“The doctor will know,” she thought, and 
resolved to wait until he came down the stairs 
and ask him. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 181 

“ Don’t feel so bad, Mildred,” and a kindly 
arm was about her shoulder and Bertha stood 
beside her. “ The doctor says that her ankle is 
only sprained.” 

“ Will she ever walk ? ” whispered Mildred. 

“ Yes, indeed ; very soon. But her poor little 
arm is broken. Oh, Mildred ! ” for Mildred 
had begun to sob so bitterly that Bertha could 
not comfort her. 

Ellie and Brownie soon heard the news of 
Nancy’s mishap, and when Brownie started for 
home Mrs. Hinman suggested that Ellie should 
go in to Mrs. Chaplin’s to inquire what the 
doctor had said. 

Ellie agreed without a word. But as she 
went up the path to the Chaplin house she 
wondered what Bertha and Mildred would do 
if they saw her coming to their house. She did 
not have long to wonder, for Lucy came running 
to meet her, closely followed by Bertha. 

They were eager to tell her about Nancy’s 
accident, for no one imagined that it was Mil- 
dred’s fault which had caused her fall. 

“And we were just starting to go to your 
house, Ellie. We wanted to ask your pardon,” 
said Bertha. 


1 82 A LITTLE MAID 

44 Five Roses,” responded Ellie. “ I don’t be- 
lieve the 4 Roses ’ need to ask each other’s pardon. 
Bat truly, I did not mean to tell. And I did 
not say a word about Fort Danger or the 
4 Roses.’ ” 

44 We are all glad that your grandma knows 
about Brownie,” said Bertha, “ and I’m glad we 
are friends again. It was horrid to feel that we 
had been mean to you.” 

44 Where is Mildred?” asked Lucy. “I 
haven’t seen her since the doctor went.” 

“ She has cried herself nearly sick about 
Nancy,” said Bertha, 14 but Nancy will soon be 
able to come down-stairs, and then you must 
come and see her, Ellie.” 

Ellie was glad to promise to come, and when 
Bertha slipped her hand under Ellie’s arm in 
the old friendly fashion and walked home with 
her, telling of Nancy’s scream and of running 
back to find her little sister unconscious, she 
could not help but feel happy in spite of the 
sad accident. 

44 Mildred feels awfully,” said Bertha. 44 1 
never knew her to cry so much as she has about 
Nancy. And mother has forbidden us ever to 
go near Fort Danger again. You see, we had 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 183 

to tell how we happened to be there, and now 
we haven’t a secret left, only the ‘ Five Roses/ ” 
concluded Bertha a little apologetically, for she 
had suddenly realized that it was not always 
possible to keep a secret. 

“ I think the ‘ Roses ’ is the best of all, don’t 
you, Bertha ? ” Ellie responded ; “ and if you 
want to tell your mother about that it will be 
all right.” 

Bertha shook her head. “ No,” she answered 
quickly, “ let’s not tell that.” 

From an upper window Mildred had watched 
Ellie’s arrival, and had seen Bertha and Lucy 
run to meet her. 

“ I suppose they will tell her it was all my 
fault that we treated her badly ; and it was. I 
was to blame for that, and now I have nearly 
killed Nancy,” thought the unhappy child. 

She knew that Nancy was suffering, and that 
no one but her mother was to enter her room 
until the next day. She wondered if Nancy 
had told that it was she, Mildred, who had 
given the angry push which had sent Nancy 
over the steep bluff? 

“ If she hasn’t told already she will tell to- 


184 


A LITTLE MAID 


morrow. Perhaps she is waiting to tell father,” 
decided Mildred. That her father should know 
that she had been angry enough to do such a 
thing seemed all the punishment she could bear. 
She was sure that her father, mother and sisters 
could never again care for her when they dis- 
covered that she was to blame for Nancy’s broken 
arm. 

“ What shall I do ? ” she sobbed aloud, not 
knowing that Mrs. Ludlow had just entered the 
room. 

“ Why, dear Mildred, what is the matter ? ” 
asked her grandmother, putting her arm about 
the unhappy child. “ Can’t you tell grandma ? ” 

“ I pushed Nancy. I pushed her off the 
fort,” sobbed the little girl. 

“ But you did not mean to ; it was an acci- 
dent,” said Mrs. Ludlow. 

“ I didn’t mean to hurt her. But I was 

angry ” Mildred stopped suddenly. What 

had she done? she thought, thoroughly fright- 
ened. She had told Grandma Ludlow some- 
thing that she had feared for any one to know. 

“ Oh, grandma ! I didn’t mean to tell ! ” she 
said pleadingly, looking up into Mrs. Ludlow’s 
kind face. 


A LITTLE MAID 185 

“ I will never speak of it, my child, unless 
you ask me to,” responded her grandmother, 
“ but I am sure you will decide that you want 
your mother to know. It is a very serious and 
unhappy thing for you to have such a secret. 
The only way to overcome your trouble, dear 
child, is to tell Nancy how sorry you are ” 

“ Yes, yes ; I will,” interrupted Mildred 
eagerly. “ I mean to.” 

“ And tell your mother and father at once,” 
concluded Mrs. Ludlow. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


HANNAH JANE AND ELLIE 

The day after Nancy’s accident Ellie received 
a letter from her mother, saying that her father 
had joined his regiment, which had been sent to 
defend the Northern frontier. She spoke of 
“ Barlay,” and said that they were now quite 
sure that he must be a relative, and that the 
boys called him “ cousin.” 

“ You must tell your grandmother about him,” 
Mrs. Barlow had written to her little daughter ; 
“ very soon now you will be coming home, and 
then I will tell you about Barlay.” 

Mrs. Hinman read the letter with interest. 

“ I have no doubt but the young Englishman 
awoke to the fact that the rights of a slave may 
be invaded without protest, but that no loyal 
subject will yield without a hearing, and the 
English king refuses to hear us,” she said. 

“ If the charter granted to Connecticut by 
King Charles in 1662 could be read by all Brit- 
186 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 187 

ish soldiers, ’twould end the war,” she added, 
for all Connecticut people firmly believed that 
their charter was a model form of government. 

“ Was that the charter which was hid in the 
oak ? ” asked Ellie. 

“ Yes, my dear, and that reminds me that of 
course our excursion with the Chaplins will 
have to be postponed until little Nancy is 
better,” said Mrs. Hinman, “ and it may be they 
will think best to give it up altogether.” 

While Mrs. Hinman was speaking Hannah 
Jane had entered the room, and stood waiting. 

“ If you please, ma’am, I’ve been a-thinking 
of the little Vincent lass an’ her brither,” she be- 
gan ; “ it seems there’s no woman-folk to do a 
hand’s turn for the children. An’ Peter has 
been down for a look at the place, an’ says ’tis 
little better than a shed.” And Hannah Jane 
stood as if waiting for some suggestion from her 
mistress. 

“And what can we do about it, Hannah 
Jane ? ” responded Mrs. Hinman. 

“ Weel, ma’am, Peter was saying that if ye 
would spare him this afternoon he’d weel like to 
step down an’ mend the floor an’ the windows 
fer the children. An’, if ye please, ma’am, I 


1 88 A LITTLE MAID 

could go down mesilf and help the lassie a bit,” 
said Hannah Jane. 

“ Couldn’t I go too, grandma ? ” asked Ellie, 
taking it for granted that her grandmother 
would instantly approve of this plan. But Mrs. 
Hinman’s look was troubled. 

“ We must not forget that May and Joe have 
a father. He might think ill of our interfer- 
ence,” she said. 

“ 1 nigh forgot, ma’am. Peter made the ac- 
quaintance of their faither, and Mr. Vincent is 
weel pleased at the idea,” said Hannah Jane, 
and now Mrs. Hinman smiled. 

“ I see it is all settled,” she said, " and if 
Hannah Jane is willing to take you, Ellie, you 
may go with her to see May Vincent.” 

“To be sure Miss Ellie may go. We’ll be 
starting right away after dinner, ma’am,” re- 
sponded Hannah Jane briskly. 

“ I’ll sew my hour this morning,” said Ellie. 
“ I am sure to finish the long seams to-day.” 

Grandma nodded approvingly, and Ellie ran 
up-stairs and got out her work-bag and sat down 
to work on her dress. She wondered if Rosy 
and Posy, followed by their careful mother, 
were running about the garden, and she thought 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 189 

of Angeline, in her beautiful scarlet dress, who 
was now sitting in one of the chairs in Ellie’s 
own room. 

“ Nancy had not broken her arm there 
would not be a single unhappy thing, not one ! ” 
the little girl thought happily, remembering 
with delight that the little Chaplin girls were 
again her friends. 

At that moment she heard a little tap on the 
door, and heard some one say : 

“ Your grandma told me to come up, but if 
you don't want to speak to me I'll go right 
home," and Ellie looked up to see Mildred stand- 
ing just inside the door. 

“ Oh, Mildred f I'm so glad to see you. Is 
Nancy better?" exclaimed Ellie, jumping up 
from her chair, and starting toward her friend. 

“ Wait, Ellie, I’ve got to tell you something 
dreadful. I am to blame about Nancy. Yes, I 
am. And it all came because I was mean and 
hateful to you," said Mildred, still keeping close 
to the door, as if sure that Ellie would not want 
her to stay when she heard what Mildred knew 
she must tell her. She spoke quickly, saying 
that her sisters had been sure of Ellie's truth, 
and that she, Mildred, had been so angry at 


A LITTLE MAID 


190 

Nancy's determination to make friends that she 
had given her the push which sent the poor 
child over the cliff. 

“ And if you can't forgive me I sha'n't blame 
you a bit," Mildred said as she finished. 

Ellie stood listening as if she could hardly 
understand what Mildred had told her, and 
Mildred went on : “ I have told mother and 
father, and Nancy has forgiven me. But Bertha 
says she's so ashamed of me that she can hardly 
bear to look at me," and now Mildred sobbed 
aloud, for the younger girls all thought that 
Bertha was exactly right in whatever she de- 
cided to do, and Bertha's disapproval was hard 
for Mildred to bear. 

“ Well, Mildred ! I think you are splendid ! " 
declared Ellie, coming close to her friend. “ Any- 
body gets angry ; and of course you wouldn't 
have hurt Nancy on purpose, but it's a true 
deed to do all you have done to make it right." 

Mildred's face brightened, but she shook her 
head. Not only Grandma Ludlow but her 
mother and father had talked to her so seri- 
ously about the dangers of an ill-controlled 
temper that Mildred was sure she would never 
again dare to be angry. She could not forget 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT igi 

that Nancy must suffer because of that ugly 
moment when her sister had forgotten every- 
thing because she could not have her own way. 

“ I did think of the vow of the Five Roses 
when I told father,” Mildred acknowledged, 
“ and I want to tell you something else : Bertha 
said that I must apologize to you, and I do.” 

Ellie leaned forward and kissed Mildred’s 
flushed cheek. “ Come and see Angeline,” she 
said, “ and then I’ll show you Rosy and Posy,” 
and hand in hand the two girls went down the 
hall to Ellie’s room, where Mildred admired 
Angeline and for the moment forgot her trouble. 

“ Now you must see Rosy and Posy,” said 
Ellie, and Mildred followed Ellie to the kitchen 
to be welcomed pleasantly by Hannah Jane. 

Taking the kittens the girls went out to the 
playhouse under the lilacs. 

“ I must not stay long,” said Mildred, “ be- 
cause Nancy may need me. Bertha is reading 
to her now, but I am to do everything I can for 
her. Mother said that I might.” 

“ When will she come down-stairs ? ” asked 
Ellie. 

“ In a day or two. Her ankle is better to- 
day. And her arm is in a sling,” said Mildred 


192 


A LITTLE MAID 

in so mournful a tone that Ellie began to talk 
about the tea party which she meant to have in 
the playhouse as soon as Nancy could come : 
“ That is, if she is well enough to come to a tea 
party before I go home. You see, my visit is 
half finished.” 

“ Oh ! Aren't you going to stay all summer ? 
I thought you were,” responded Mildred. 

11 1 couldn't do that,” replied Ellie, “ but I 
shall miss you all. It's lovely to have girls for 
neighbors,” and she told Mildred about her 
home, and its distance from school and neigh- 
bors. 

Mildred looked much happier when she 
started for home than on her arrival at Ellie's, 
and Ellie returned to her sewing, and finished 
her stent before dinner. 

“ May I not wipe the dishes for you to-day, 
Hannah Jane?” she asked, when dinner was 
over, and Hannah Jane was clearing the table. 

“ 'Tis for your grandma to say,” replied Han- 
nah Jane. 

“ Of course you may. Tie an apron over your 
frock,” replied Mrs. Hinman, smiling with ap- 
proval at Elbe's suggestion ; and Ellie remem- 
bered that her mother had said it would be a 











OF OLD CONNECTICUT 193 

great favor if Hannah Jane allowed her to help 
with the household work. 

It was evident that Hannah Jane was glad of 
her assistance, and as Ellie carefully wiped the 
dishes and set them away, Hannah Jane told her 
of her plan to help the Vincents to make their 
home more comfortable. 

“ The lass is a good lass,” she declared, as she 
spoke of Brownie ; “ she spent the gold piece she 
found on things for her brither, and a bit of 
food ; na’ penny’s worth did she buy for herself.” 

Ellie made no response to this. She was 
quite sure that the sovereign Brownie had found 
was the one Barlay had given her, which she 
had lost. Brownie had found it near the fence 
under which they crawled, and Ellie thought it 
had probably slipped from her pocket. But she 
did not even let Brownie know of her loss, nor did 
she again speak to her grandmother about it. 
It had seemed a wonderful sum to Ellie ; she 
had planned to buy a beautiful bead purse for 
her mother, and gifts for all the family ; but as 
soon as she realized that Brownie had found it 
she said to herself that she would keep her vow 
to the “ Five Roses,” and never let Brownie know 
of her own loss. 


A LITTLE MAID 


194 

“ It isn't really much of a ‘ true deed/ " she 
owned to herself, “ but it's something." So Ellie 
no longer thought of the lost money. Her mother 
would be as well pleased, she knew, with the 
two Maltese kittens as with any gift Ellie could 
bring. 

“ Your grandma is sending a braided rug, a 
couple of chairs and some dishes to the Vincents. 
Peter will take the things on his wheelbar- 
row/' said Hannah Jane, as she and Ellie started 
for Brown Lane. 

Brownie was at the Chaplins' for her daily 
lesson, and when she reached home she looked 
about in surprise. Peter was at work on the 
roof, and had already mended the kitchen floor, 
which Hannah Jane had thoroughly swept and 
scrubbed. The braided rug lay in the centre of 
the room, the two chairs stood near the table, 
the windows had been washed, and Hannah Jane 
was now putting up some curtains of figured 
chintz, while Ellie was setting the dishes Mrs. 
Hinman had sent on the dresser shelves. 

“ Are you surprised, Brownie?" Ellie asked, 
smiling with delight at Brownie's happy face. 

“ I was thinking about Joe. I don't know 
what he will say," said Brownie ; “ father took 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 195 

him to help guard the powder this afternoon. 
I guess I never can thank you,” and she turned 
to Hannah Jane, as if quite sure that Hannah 
Jane understood all she could not say. 

When Hannah Jane had finished an afternoon 
of hard work, the three rooms of the old cabin 
were clean and fresh, and it seemed a very dif- 
ferent place from the cabin of Ellie’s first visit. 
Brownie danced about from room to room look- 
ing admiringly at the pretty patchwork quilt 
which Hannah Jane had spread over Brownie’s 
narrow cot, and then at the neat kitchen. 

“It’s just like a home, isn’t it?” she said to 
Ellie, “ and we won’t move. Father says that 
we won’t. I never expected to have so much.” 
Then she looked at Ellie earnestly. “ And it’s 
all because you were kind,” she said ; “if you 
had driven me away that day when you found 

me in your grandma’s garden ” and Brownie 

choked a little, and said no more ; but Ellie un- 
derstood, and was as glad as Brownie herself that 
she had been kind to her. 

“ Come up to-morrow and see my playhouse,” 
said Ellie as she bade Brownie good-bye and ran 
after Hannah Jane. 

“ Hannah Jane,” she said, reaching up to clasp 


196 A LITTLE MAID 

her friend's hand, “ you know you said it well 
became any little girl to think about other chil- 
dren?" 

“ Did I now, Miss Ellie ? Weel, to be sure, 
maybe I did," responded Hannah Jane. 

“ Yes, Hannah Jane. 'Twas when I cried about 
spoiling my hat," Ellie reminded her, “and 
I want to tell you that I think I know what you 
meant. You meant it makes any one happy to 
make other people happy." 

Hannah Jane smiled down at the eager little 
face, and her clasp on Ellie's hand tightened. 

“ Maybe that's what I did mean, and knew 
naught of it, Miss Ellie," she replied. 


CHAPTER XIX 

THE END OF THE VISIT 

It was several days before Nancy came down- 
stairs, and Ellie was her first visitor. The two 
friends had many things to talk about, and Ellie 
had brought Angeline for Nancy to see and 
admire. 

44 Mildred does everything for me,” Nancy de- 
clared proudly. 44 Grandma Ludlow says that 
she is my ‘ lady in waiting/ such as queens have.” 

Mildred flushed a little at her sister's praise. 
It was evident that Nancy had quite forgiven 
her sister for the ugly push, and for the suffer- 
ing it had brought. 

44 1 hope you can come over and see my tea- 
set and the Maltese kittens before I go home,” 
said Ellie. 44 I am going next week.” 

44 Next week ! ” exclaimed Nancy in surprise. 
“ Oh, Ellie ! we don't want you to go. Why 
can't you stay and live with your grandma ? ” 
But Ellie shook her head smilingly. 

197 


A LITTLE MAID 


198 

“ It’s lovely to be going home. You wouldn't 
care to stay away from home, no matter how 
good a time you were having ; and I have had 
a good time/' responded Ellie, “ and the very 
best part of it all has been having you girls for 
neighbors," she added. 

“ Here comes Bertha," said Mildred, from her 
seat near the window ; “ she has something for 
you and for Nancy," and Mildred tried to look 
as if she were keeping a great secret. 

“ What is it, Mildred ? " Nancy asked eagerly ; 
but before Mildred could reply Bertha entered 
the room, closely followed by Lucy. 

“ What is the secret, Bertha ? " questioned 
Nancy. 

‘'Secret?" said Bertha in surprise. “Why, 
I haven't any secret ! Oh, you mean the 
‘ Roses.' " 

“ No, I don't. What is it you have for Ellie 
and me?" said Nancy. 

“ Why, the ‘ Roses,' " repeated Bertha. “ You 
know we vowed to each wear a rose as an em- 
blem of our vows. And then Ellie discovered 
Brownie, and so many things began to happen 
that we forgot all about it." 

“ So we did," agreed Ellie. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 199 

44 Well, I remembered it yesterday, and so I 
made five tiny roses out of white silk. Lucy, will 
you please run up-stairs to my room and bring me 
my work-bag ? ” and Lucy started off instantly 
and was back in a moment with the pretty bag 
of flowered chintz. 

Bertha opened it and took out the five tiny 
roses and laid them on Nancy's lap. 

“ They look like buttons ! ” declared Mildred, 
“ but they are pretty,” she added quickly. 

Bertha did not make any reply. She had 
worked all the morning to make the tiny 
“ roses,” and she had hoped that her sisters and 
Ellie would think that she had done well. 
After a moment she smiled and said: “Well, 
we can call them roses, can't we ? And even if 
they do look like * buttons ' they will remind us 
of each other,” and she pinned one on Ellie's 
dress, and handed another to Mildred. 

Mildred's face had flushed, and now she spoke 
quickly : “ Nobody but me would have said such 
a hateful thing, Bertha. I'm sorry.” 

“ You need not be sorry a bit. They do look 
like buttons,” replied Bertha, with a friendly nod 
to Mildred, but the elder sister was thinking to 
herself how different this was from the “ old 


200 


A LITTLE MAID 


Mildred.” A week ago and Mildred would 
never have owned a mistake, or asked pardon 
for anything. Poor Nancy’s tumble seemed to 
have made Mildred realize that she must con- 
sider the feelings of others. 

Mildred pinned the “ rose ” on Nancy’s 
dress, and each of the girls thought they would 
always treasure this little remembrance of Fort 
Danger and their promises to each other. Ellie 
had just said that it was time for her to go home 
when Mrs. Ludlow came hurrying into the 
room. She had a newspaper in one hand, and 
looked as if she had just heard the best of good 
news. 

“ Here is news of the most wonderful thing 
which has yet been accomplished in America. 
A Matchless Document prepared by Congress, 
The Declaration of Independence,” and Mrs. 
Ludlow looked at the little girls as if she quite 
• expected them to understand all that such news 
meant to every loyal American. 

“-But Governor Trumbull declared our inde- 
pendence on the fourteenth of June,” said 
Bertha, who recalled that her father had told 
her that June fourteenth was an important day 
in the history of Connecticut liberty. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 201 


“To be sure,” agreed Mrs. Ludlow. “Con- 
necticut has never been obliged to wait for any 
other Colony to lead her to freedom, but now 
the Thirteen Colonies are united under an 
American government, and we may hope for 
the protection of freedom. Your father will 
read you this paper to-night.” 

“Is it as wonderful as the charter of Con- 
necticut ? ” asked Ellie. 

“ My child ! It is the most sublime creation 
possible,” replied Mrs. Ludlow. “ All the town 
is reading it. People are marching about the 
streets shouting with joy ; and every one de- 
clares it will inspire our soldiers to even greater 
deeds of valor.” 

Ellie thought of all that Mrs. Ludlow had 
said as she walked home. If this new Declara- 
tion was so wonderful, why, then America would 
soon be at peace ; her father could stay at home, 
and there would be no more suffering. She 
wondered if her mother and brothers had heard 
the great news, or if she would be the first to 
tell them ? 

In a few days more Nancy, with the help of 
Mildred, was able to hobble over to Mrs. Hin- 
man's garden, and to make the acquaintance of 


202 


A LITTLE MAID 


Rosy and Posy. The little tea-table was set in 
the summer-house on Nancy’s account ; and each 
one of the girls was eager to be of use to Nancy. 
Mildred was on one side and Brownie on the 
other, and Nancy seemed the very happiest one 
of the happy little group. 

As Ellie looked about at the beautiful garden, 
and then at her friends gathered about the round 
table she grew very quiet. She was thinking 
how she would miss them all, even if she was 
going home, and wished that her mother might 
have just such a garden and summer-house as 
this. 

“ I wish that you were all going home with 
me,” she said, looking across the table at 
Nancy. “ Perhaps when your grandmother re- 
turns to Albany you can all come and visit me ? ” 

“ Not all of us at one time!” said Bertha, “but 
I shouldn’t wonder if one of us could visit you 
then. Grandma Ludlow is going to drive you 
out to see the Charter Oak to-morrow. She says 
she promised when you met in the coach, and 
now that mother has given up the picnic she 
means to take you herself.” 

This was good news to Ellie. She had been 
greatly disappointed at the thought of not see- 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 203 

ing the tree on the Wyllis farm, where the 
old charter had been concealed, and to drive 
out with Mrs. Ludlow would be almost better 
than the proposed picnic, she thought, and Mrs. 
Hinman was greatly pleased at Mrs. Ludlow's 
friendly suggestion. 

“ We will take a bite of luncheon and not 
hurry back," Mrs. Ludlow said, when she came 
out to the arbor with Mrs. Hinman to tell Ellie 
of the plan. The other little girls looked a 
little sober, for they had all hoped for a picnic, 
and Mildred again reproached herself for bring- 
ing them this disappointment. 

“ If I hadn't been so hateful we could have had 
the picnic just as mother planned," she thought. 

“ It’s just like being grown up," said Ellie, as 
she took her seat in the chaise beside Mrs. Lud- 
low the next morning ; and Mrs. Ludlow laughed 
and nodded, and said, “ Go on, Doll," to the fat 
white horse, and they were off, leaving Grandma 
Hinman waving her hand from the high porch. 

As they drove along Ellie said to herself that 
she felt just as if she were grown up. "Just 
like Miss Ellen Elizabeth Barlow," and sud- 
denly she looked up and said, “ I’m making be- 
lieve that we are both young ladies." 


A LITTLE MAID 


204 

“ That is a fine idea. I'll make believe too,” 
declared Mrs. Ludlow ; “ let's be eighteen,” and 
Ellie agreed that eighteen must be grown up 
enough for any one. 

It was a happy day for both the elderly woman 
and the little girl. Their “ make believe ” lasted 
until they came driving back in the late after- 
noon, and Mrs. Ludlow said good-bye, and 
added : “ It's so pleasant to have a friend of my 
own age,” and Ellie responded : 

“ Yes, indeed 1 That's just what I think.” 

There were only three days more after this 
before Ellie’s visit would be over. The little 
leather trunk stood in her chamber ready to be 
packed for the journey, and Peter was making a 
box, with narrow openings on the top and sides, 
in which Rosy and Posy could travel comfortably. 

Every day there were tea parties in the sum- 
mer-house, or in the Chaplin garden under the 
big elms. Brownie, looking very sober indeed 
whenever Ellie’s going home was spoken of, 
came every day ; and every day Hannah Jane’s 
gingerbread cakes seemed to grow larger and 
sweeter, and then the morning came when Ellie 
opened her eyes and realized that before night 
she would see her dear mother. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 205 

It was hard to say good-bye to Grandma 
Hinman, to Hannah Jane and Peter. The 
other good-byes had been said on the previous 
night, for Mrs. Chaplin knew that Mrs. Hinman 
would wish to have Ellie to herself on that last 
morning. 

The little trunk stood by the gate, and on it 
rested the bandbox. Mr. Pettigrew drove up in 
grand fashion, and while Peter lifted the box 
containing Rosy and Posy to the back of the 
coach, and put the trunk in a safe place, Mr. 
Pettigrew leaned down and said : “ 1 hope you 
have had a pleasant visit, Miss Ellen Elizabeth,” 
and Ellie thought again how nice it was to have 
a name with such a really grown-up sound. 

“ Do you wish your bandbox in the coach, 
Miss Ellie?” asked Peter. 

“ Yes, thank you,” said Ellie carelessly, hold- 
ing her grandmother’s hand very tightly, and not 
caring at all where the bandbox was put. For 
there was nothing in it except her hat of blue 
shirred silk. There was no mysterious package 
in the bandbox now. 


CHAPTER XX 

HOME AGAIN 

Mr. Pettigrew waved his whip, the horses 
started forward at a good pace, and Ellie leaned 
from the coach window until a turn in the road 
shut out Market Square from view. Then she 
looked rather shyly at her traveling companions. 
There was no pleasant elderly woman beside her 
on this return journey. She had the back seat 
quite to herself. There were three men on the 
middle seat. It seemed to Ellie that they were 
all talking at once, and all talking of Governor 
Trumbull. Ellie did not mean to listen, but it 
was soon evident that the men were quite will- 
ing that any one should hear what they had to 
say. Suddenly she realized that they were 
discussing a mysterious letter which Governor 
Trumbull had received a few weeks earlier. 

“ ’Tis said the letter was handed him on the 
street by a small girl,” declared one of the men, 
206 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 207 

“ and that it came none too soon. There was a 
plot on foot to carry the governor off.” 

Ellie knew that her face was flushed. What 
would those men say, she wondered, if they 
knew that the little girl who had given Governor 
Trumbull the letter was on the seat behind them ? 
This would be something more to tell her 
mother and brothers. 

The men were going to Salisbury. Their talk 
was soon of the Salisbury iron mines, and its 
foundries where cannon were cast for the use of 
the American army ; and Ellie heard no further 
mention of the mysterious little girl who had 
given the letter to Governor Trumbull. 

There were other passengers on the front seat 
of the coach, but there was no one for Ellie to 
speak to. She began to wish that the box with 
Rosy and Posy could be put on the seat beside 
her, and resolved when the coach stopped at the 
inn to change horses that she would ask Mr. 
Pettigrew if this might be done. 

Mr. Pettigrew came to the coach door as soon 
as he climbed down from his high seat. 

“ I hope you are enjoying your journey, Miss 
Ellen Elizabeth,” he said ; and when Ellie 
thanked him, and told him about Rosy and 


208 


A LITTLE MAID 


Posy, he said at once that the box could be 
set on the floor of the coach beside her. 

“ You see, they will enjoy it more if they 
are with me,” Ellie explained, and Mr. 
Pettigrew smiled and nodded, and called the 
guard to bring “ the box of cats,” and in a few 
moments there were Rosy and Posy trying their 
best to get their heads through the openings in 
the box, and evidently delighted to be near 
Ellie. As she looked down at the kittens Ellie 
remembered her lost sovereign; and then she 
thought of Brownie and Joe, now well-clothed 
and happy ; and of Hannah Jane, who had said 
that she meant to look after Brownie, “ for your 
sake, Miss Ellie, since 'tis you she has to thank 
for all her good fortune ; ” and then the guard's 
bugle call, longer and louder than before, made 
Ellie look from the window. 

“ Oh, it's the top of Long Hill. I can see our 
house,” she exclaimed happily, and at the sound 
of her voice the men on the seat turned and 
smiled at her. 

“ Why, you are a brave little miss indeed to 
journey from Hartford alone,” said one of 
them. 

Did you hear of the little maid who brought 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 209 

a note to our governor ? ” questioned his compan- 
ion, looking at Ellie. 

“ Yes, sir, ,, Ellie replied, but she was not 
thinking of Hartford now, or of any of the 
wonderful things which had happened there. 
She could see her mother and brothers at the 
roadside waiting for her. How slowly Mr. 
Pettigrew was driving, she thought impatiently. 
And now the very best moment of all her visit 
was close at hand, for the coach had stopped, 
the door opened, and Ellie was held tight in her 
mother’s arms. 

The little leather trunk, the bandbox and 
“ the box of cats ” were set down. Mrs. Barlow 
thanked Mr. Pettigrew for bringing Ellie safely 
home ; the men in the coach lifted their hats to 
the little group by the gate, and off went the 
four horses. 

“ Oh, mother, I have so much to tell you,” 
said Ellie, as they turned toward the house. 
“ And grandma sent the kittens to you. Their 
names are Rosy and Posy.” 

“ Of course,” replied Mrs. Barlow smilingly. 

“ And grandma is going to send Will a lot of 
silkworms ; and there is a fine book in my 
trunk for Stevie,” continued Ellie, and then she 


210 A LITTLE MAID 

heard all the messages that her father had left 
for her. 

Ellie ran about the house from room to room, 
“as if you had been away a year,” declared 
Will laughingly. 

“ I do believe you have forgotten all about 
Barlay,” said Stephen a little reproachfully, 
as the family gathered about the table. “ You 
haven't even asked about him. And he worked 

nearly a week to make ” but Steve stopped 

suddenly. 

“ Oh, I did forget,” replied Ellie, “ but where 
is he?” 

“ Gone to Lebanon,” said Stephen. “ Gov- 
ernor Trumbull sent for him last week.” 

“ Isn't he ever coming back ? ” asked Ellie. 

“ Of course he will,” said Will. “ He hasn't 
any home except with us. He's coming back 
to help with the harvest.” 

And then Mrs. Barlow told Ellie of the mes- 
senger who had brought the friendly summons 
for the young Englishman. “ Of course the 
governor wanted to see and question him,” said 
Ellie's mother, “ but we feel sure that he will 
come back to us.” 

“ You haven't even looked at the orchard,” 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 21 1 

Will said as Ellie went to look at her yellow 
rose-bush. “ Come on, you’ll be surprised,” and 
Ellie ran along beside her brother to the corner 
of the house. Then she stopped and looked 
about as if she could hardly believe that she was 
at home. For there, at the edge of the orchard, 
stood a summer-house so much like the one in 
Grandma Hinman’s garden that Ellie almost 
expected to see Peter and Hannah Jane coming 
down the path. 

“ Isn’t that fine? ” exclaimed Will. “ Barlay 
made it for a surprise for you. Mother told 
him just how the one in Grandma Hinman’s 
garden was made.” 

And then Ellie remembered that Barlay’s last 
words to her when she started on her journey 
to Hartford had been of a “ surprise,” some- 
thing that she would like, when she returned 
home. 

“ It is what I wanted more than anything,” 
said Ellie, looking admiringly at the little 
lattice-work arbor, and at the comfortable seat. 
“ We can have tea parties here when the 
Chaplin girls come to visit me. I wish I could 
thank Barlay.” 

“ What is that little white button pinned on 


212 A LITTLE MAID 

your dress for ? ” asked Will as they turned back 
to the house. 

“ Oh ! It's to remember something by,” Ellie 
replied, looking down at Bertha’s “ rose.” 

Both Stephen and Will were very proud in- 
deed over the fact that Ellie had carried Barlay’s 
message to Governor Trumbull. 

“ The governor wrote Barlay that it was a 
great service,” said Stephen. “ I wish I had 
been the one to carry the letter.” 

“ But suppose anything had happened to 
your bandbox ? ” suggested Will. “ I think 
Barlay ought to have told you to be careful.” 

“ Oh, I was careful,” laughed Ellie. “ Why, 
I didn’t have a minute’s peace on account of 
that bandbox,” and then she told them of the 
loss, first of the bandbox, and then of Barlay’s 
package. But she said nothing about the golden 
sovereign. She had resolved, however, that some 
day she would tell the young Englishman about 
it, and about Brownie and Joe, and of the 
happiness the money had given them. 

Good news had come from Ellie’s soldier 
father that very day, so it was a happy group 
which gathered in Barlay’s arbor and listened 
to all that Ellie had to tell of her Hartford visit. 


OF OLD CONNECTICUT 213 

“ And what was the very best of all your 
visit, dear child ? ” asked Mrs. Barlow. 

For a moment Ellie was silent, and then she 
said slowly : “ Well, I suppose the best of it all 
was really Grandma Hi n man. But there were 
so many things : Hannah Jane, and Brownie, 

and the little Chaplin girls, and What are 

you laughing at, boys? ” she demanded, for Will 
and Steve were both chuckling quietly. 

" Why, at you, Ellie. You think everything 
is * best/ ” said Stephen. 

“ Well, it is,” said Ellie. 


The Stories in this Series are ! 

A LITTLE MAID OF PROVINCE TOWN 
A LITTLE MAID OF MASSACHUSETTS COLONY 
A LITTLE MAID OF NARRAGANSETT BAY 
A LITTLE MAID OF BUNKER HILL 
A LITTLE MAID OF TICONDEROGA 
A LITTLE MAID OF OLD CONNECTICUT 


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